The birthday Shirl: Strictly star’s 60th ...with her mother
IF THIS 60th birthday celebration were to be judged, it would surely get a ten.
Shirley Ballas marked yesterday’s milestone with a luxurious stay at one of London’s most expensive hotels.
The Strictly Come Dancing head judge shared an Instagram video of herself in the bath on her birthday weekend, watching the spectacular city skyline from her skyscraper suite at The Shard’s five-star Shangri-La Hotel.
She spent the big day sipping champagne with her mother Audrey and her boyfriend Daniel Taylor, who had filled the suite with flowers,
‘Diane Abbott turned show down’
bubbly, photos of her family and a small replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Miss Ballas and Taylor, a 47-yearold actor, had planned to spend the date in Paris, but virus restrictions got in the way.
The Strictly star wrote on Instagram: ‘60th birthday and totally grateful I can spend it with my 82year-old mum and my lovely boyfriend who has gone out of his way to make sure everything is running smoothly. 5.30am here in London and waking up to the most spectacular view.’
The mother-of-one is likely to have spent the weekend in the £700-anight Shangri-La suite on the top floor, 39 storeys up. Yesterday, Labour MP Diane Abbott revealed she previously turned down the offer to appear on Strictly.
‘I couldn’t possibly do it,’ she told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday. ‘Because you’ll be surprised to know I’m not someone with natural rhythm and I didn’t want it exposed to millions of television viewers.’
The show will begin again on October 24 with several changes to make filming possible. Producers have mentioned how the dancers could isolate in pairs for two weeks in hotels as they trained, or ‘bubble up’ so they can still see their families.
The 2020 season will also be slightly shorter than usual – it normally begins in September.