A beloved BBC star looked unrecognisable in a sweet throwback childhood snap as they marked a milestone birthday on Saturday.
Celebrating the special occasion, the TV legend admitted they still have a pinch-me moment when realising they have been ‘entertaining the nation’.
The screen favourite, who just turned 65, is much loved for being a ballroom-savvy.
She won multiple championships in Latin American dance, including the British Open three times.
Despite her showbiz fame, the star is also a mother, grandmother, as well as an author, advocating for mental health after her brother’s tragic suicide in 2003.
She also serves as a charity ambassador and has donated most of her trophies to underprivileged children.
Beloved BBC star looks unrecognisable in sweet throwback childhood snap to mark birthday milestone
That’s s Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas, who just turned 65 on Saturday
Yes, that’s Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas.
The dance coach took to her Instagram stories on Saturday, cheering herself for ‘making it this far’.
Alongside the sepia-effect pic, she penned: ‘Almost 65 years old baby girl happy birthday you made it this far.
‘Who would have thought this little baby girl 18 months old would be entertaining a nation on @bbcstrictly.’
The star also shared a snap beaming beside her mum with a multi-coloured 65 balloons as she celebrated the special day.
Thanking fans for their messages she showed off her array of cards and flowers, including a bottle of champagne from her fellow Strictly judges Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke.
She penned: .Feeling rather grateful today ❤️… thank you for the overwhelming outpouring of love from you all on my 65th birthday’.
Shirley is also dubbed the Queen of Latin thanks to her long career after starting to dance at the age of seven, and has cemented her status as the reins-holder of the Strictly’s panel.
The star also shared a snap beaming beside her mum with a multi-coloured 65 balloons as she celebrated the special day
Thanking fans for their messages she showed off her array of cards and flowers
She also received a bottle of champagne from her fellow Strictly judges Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke
Her celebrity pals rushed to wish her a happy birthday in the comments
Shirley is also dubbed the Queen of Latin thanks to her long career after starting to dance at the age of 7, and has cemented her status as the reins-holder of the Strictly’s panel
And just days prior to her birthday, she revealed that she received ‘disdainful stares’ at her father’s funeral after describing him as a ‘deadbeat dad’
The dancing legend recently dealt with health issues related to menopause and degenerative spine disorder, which she openly discussed to raise awareness.
Meanwhile, just days prior to her birthday, she revealed that she received ‘disdainful stares’ at her father’s funeral after describing him as a ‘deadbeat dad’.
Shirley had a difficult relationship with her father George, known as Andy, after he left the family home when she was two and was absent for much of her life.
In an extract from her new book Best Foot Forward seen by The Mirror, she writes: ‘I was waiting to feel something, to have any sort of reaction to his passing despite everything that had gone before, but none came.
‘I went to his funeral where I felt certain people were looking at me… there were definite disdainful stares in my direction, probably because it was shortly after my autobiography had been released where I’d described him as a deadbeat dad.
‘Part of me is sorry I ever put that line in the book as I know it looked terribly stark in print, but I’m always honest and that was my truthful experience of him as a father.’
She added that her father also had a volatile relationship with her mother Audrey due to his drinking.
Andy – who died in 2021 aged 83 – went on to marry three more times after divorcing Audrey, with Shirley admitting she was ‘mad at him’ for how he treated her mother.
She told how she would even call him Andy rather than Dad or Daddy as she felt their connection was so distant.
Th star added that although she had a ‘slight wobble’ at his funeral the feelings quickly passed.
She went on to explain that when she died she said she didn’t want anything left to her from him as he’d ‘given her nothing throughout his life’.
Shirley has previously said she felt ‘mixed emotions’ when he died.
The Strictly judge had a difficult relationship with her father George, known as Andy, after he left the family home when she was two and was absent for much of her life (seen with her dad and son Mark)
In an extract from her new book she writes: ‘I was waiting to feel something, to have any sort of reaction to his passing despite everything that had gone before, but none came’
Speaking on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast she said: ‘I get emotional about it because I couldn’t imagine losing my mother that will be very traumatic. She has been the only thing that’s been a constant in my life.
‘But with dad, when he died loads of people told me ‘he really loved you’ I just thought well it’s a shame he never told me that when he is alive.’
Also in the book she revealed she thought ‘she’d be better off dead’ and turned to alcohol to cope with depression during the menopause.
She explained that she felt anxious, depressed and desolate during the time.
In her upcoming book the dancing star confessed that she thought she was ‘losing the plot’ during her ‘darkest hours’.
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