Shirley Ballas, the head judge on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, has reassured her fans she is on the mend after a frightening accident at home over the weekend left her requiring hospital treatment.
A Scary Incident and Swift Medical Care
The 65-year-old dance expert suffered a scary fall backwards on Saturday, striking her head on a glass dressing table. The severity of the incident prompted an immediate trip to hospital for a brain scan to assess any serious injury.
Taking to Instagram to update her followers, Ballas expressed immense gratitude for the swift support she received. She thanked fellow professional dancer Barbara McColl for arranging an emergency appointment and her ex-husband, Sammy Stopford, for accompanying her during the ordeal.
"Feeling Much Better" But in Need of Rest
In a follow-up post on Sunday, Ballas delivered a positive update, confirming that her skull was not fractured despite sustaining injuries to her neck and back. "Just trying to get everything sorted, and grateful for the nurses, the doctors and my friends who helped me with everything," she wrote.
She added, "So feeling in my head much better today, and grateful, and need to rest." Ballas also issued a cautionary note born from her experience, highlighting how easy it is to neglect simple safety. "All those things that perhaps one doesn’t do because we’re always running around, and never sit on a stool with a cushion," she mused.
Recovery Plans and Upcoming Commitments
The Wirral-born star plans to "take it easy for 72 hours" and has promised to later share a demonstration of exactly how the fall from the stool happened, stressing that people "need to be careful." She is optimistic about her recovery, expecting to feel "right as rain" and "like a new woman" after this rest period.
This recovery window is crucial as Ballas is scheduled to join fellow judges Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood for the Strictly Come Dancing live tour. The extensive tour, featuring 30 shows, is set to commence next week and run until 15 February.
Beyond her television role, Shirley Ballas is a well-known advocate for men's mental health and suicide prevention, serving as an ambassador for charities Campaign Against Living Miserably and Suicide&Co. Her advocacy work is deeply personal, following the death of her brother by suicide in 2003.
