Strictly awkward! Shirley gives Claudia a lesson in poise – after calling her a slouch
SHE normally reserves her criticism for the celebrity contestants and their professional partners.
But no one on Strictly Come Dancing, it seems, is safe from Shirley Ballas’s beady eye – even the presenters.
On Sunday night’s results show, she scolded host Claudia Winkleman for slouching, and then manhandled her for good measure. Miss Winkleman seemed surprised by her behaviour – while Miss Ballas’s fellow judge Darcey Bussell could be seen grimacing in the background.
The exchange came as the judges were describing what caught their eye on Saturday night’s show. Mrs Ballas, 57, explained how Alexandra Burke managed
‘You have to pull in your fuse box’
to recover from an error because of her strong core muscles and good posture.
To Miss Winkleman’s bemusement, she asked the 45-year-old: ‘Would you stand up for a moment because you do slouch a little bit?’ The presenter hit back, replying: ‘That’s a brave thing to say.’
After she stood up she was pulled around and prodded as Mrs Ballas corrected her posture and, sounding like a bossy headmistress, barked at her about the importance of good core muscles.
Placing her hands on an alarmed-looking Miss Winkleman’s stomach and back, the head judge said: ‘The central part of the body is here, it’s like a fuse box and if one part of the fuse goes out, the arms can be limp or the legs don’t work or you slouch, so you have to pull in your fuse box, flatten your chest, feel like you’re being pulled up by your ears, and now you should be able to sit down nice and straight ... Even when you stand up you should stand up gracefully, you should use your core.’
When Miss Winkleman then demonstrated a deliberately unattractive way of standing up, Mrs Ballas went further with her criticisms, saying: ‘No, darling, not like that. I have noticed you do that once or twice though, my love.’ Fellow judges Miss Bussell, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli seemed uncertain how to react and some viewers later accused Mrs Ballas of being rude and patronising.
But Miss Winkleman leapt to her defence yesterday to make clear there was no ill-feeling. She tweeted: ‘I absolutely love Shirley Ballas – we were laughing throughout.’