Family tragedy led to Shirley’s charity work

STRICTLY judge Shirley Ballas says her relentless charity work is dedicated to the memory of her late brother.

David Rich took his own life aged 44, but Shirley, left, thinks she could have prevented his death. She grew up with her brother on a housing estate in

Merseyside, and although they were close, she was unaware he was suffering from depression when he died in December 2003.

Talking to Lorraine Kelly on the new series of her podcast What If? with Lorraine & Rosie, Shirley said: “Back then men’s mental health was not talked about. He’d never share if he felt down or was having a problem.”

Shirley, 61, works for Calm, a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, and is involved in a new children’s mental health unit in Liverpool. “I’m doing it for him and for the mistakes I felt I made,” she said.

● For more on the podcast series What If? with Lorraine & Rosie, go to whatif.podigee.io