Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas will bring her discerning eye to the show’s US counterpart, Dancing with the Stars, it was announced Tuesday.
DWTS host Alfonso Ribeiro shared the news at the end of last night’s episode, telling viewers: "Next Tuesday on horror movie night, our special guest judge is our dancers’ worst nightmare – Shirley Ballas!"
It means the “Queen of Latin”, 66, will judge her son, Mark Ballas — one of DWTS’s pro dancers — in a competition for the first time.
The transatlantic dash will see Ballas jet to Los Angeles for ABC’s Latin and Ballroom dance show in the coming weeks before flying back to London in time for the BBC counterpart, which she joined in 2017.
While the Stateside gig is a one-off for now, Shirley could be in line to make regular appearances if she wows bosses of Dancing with the Stars.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s TVBiz column: “This is just a one-off for this run, but if the US TV bosses think Shirley is a hit, they’re sure to see if she would come back.”
Shirley's move comes hot on the heels of her stint judging spin-off Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro alongside Mark.
A source added: “TV bosses in the US loved Shirley on the spin-off. That’s why they booked her for the main run. She translated so well with the American audience and rated really well.”
Mark, a three-time Mirrorball champion, is competing this season with Love Island and Traitors US alum Maura Higgins.
Ballas is not the first judge to juggle Strictly Come Dancing with its US counterpart, with Bruno Tonioli and the late Len Goodman both having crossed the Atlantic for more than a decade to appear on Dancing with the Stars.
Bruno, 70, who is a judge on the ABC show, quit the UK version in 2022 because of the gruelling transatlantic commute.
He previously said: “I just couldn’t do the flying any more.
“I don’t know how I survived that schedule. To be honest, it’s a miracle.”
Like Bruno, Len, who died from prostate cancer in April 2023 at the age of 78, was a fixture on both shows from the start, joining Strictly Come Dancing in 2004 and Dancing with the Stars a year later.
Len quit Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, and Dancing with the Stars seven years later.
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