Shirley Ballas on Strictly, self-confidence and the toxic side of the dance industry

On this week’s episode of the Radio Times Podcast is the dancer and head judge on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, it is Shirley Ballas. Born and raised in Merseyside, she grew up with her mother and brother on a council estate – and found dance at the age of 7 when a tune caught her ear. She worked her way to the top of the dancing world – and has plenty of stories to tell of her journey. In this episode she talks to Kelly-Anne Taylor about everything from the phone call that changed her life but ended her engagement to Nigel Tiffany to how she was almost bullied out of the dance industry – but instead, landed the Strictly gig. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

We’ve all been there – sat in front of the television, flicking through channels, getting increasingly frustrated – there’s so much on, but nothing to watch. TV critics Caroline Frost and Shem Law have you covered. Each Friday, they serve up short, sharp television recommendations to mark your cards for the week ahead. They’ll tell you what to watch – and what to avoid. They watch it all, so you don’t have to.   No more asking: what’s on TV tonight? What to watch? Or, what should I watch? Instead, listen to Smart TV for your weekly round-up of TV programmes and film reviews. You’ll find out about the latest series dropping that week, what to binge and what television show will become the next watercooler moment.   Radio Times’ journalists Caroline Frost and Shem Law will cover all things terrestrial as well as what’s on the streaming sites – they’ll cover what’s broadcast on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky to NOW, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Netflix and Apple TV.   Whether you like Entertainment, Current Affairs, Documentaries, Dramas, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thrillers, Sports or Radio – they’ll have you covered. If you enjoy our weekly round-up of television reviews, do search for the View From My Sofa podcast which sees Kelly-Anne Taylor sit down with a celebrity guests to talk about their lives through the prism of TV.