Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas opened up about her new book featuring her mother and honest discussions about menopause and health issues on James Martin’s Saturday Morning
Abbie Bray Deputy Editor for Screen Time
12:12, 27 Dec 2025
Shirley Ballas on Strictly (Image: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has shared insights into one of her “best” career decisions whilst appearing on James Martin’s Saturday Morning cooking programme. As James prepared some of Shirley’s preferred dishes, the chef questioned the judge about her most recent book.
During their conversation, James said, “So I want to talk to you about your mum, and I want to talk to you about a little bit about your writing.”
Shirley revealed that her mum selected the book’s cover because “she loves green”. James enquired, “Tell everybody about the book because this gives a full insight into you and the whole way through your life.”
Shirley elaborated, “So, in 2019, I wrote my first autobiography, and I hadn’t been on TV long, and I really didn’t have the confidence to write, perhaps some of the things that I should have written. And so I thought I would do an extension of that by best foot forward.
“But I thought I would incorporate my mum into some of these journeys. So she decided she would help me with this. So I did it in steps rather than chapters. Step one, step two, step three, and at the beginning of every step, my mother gives me a little nugget, like, for example, ‘hang your problem at the door and pick it up on the way out, because nobody else cares when you go into work’,” reports the Express.
Shirley Ballas on James Martin’s cooking show(Image: ITV)READ MORE: Vicky Pattison’s £7 Jo Malone-inspired oil she used during BBC Strictly rehearsalsREAD MORE: The Masked Singer’s Mistletoe revealed as This Morning star in festive special
“So otherwise, we take our problems into work, and then we put them on somebody else, and that’s not really fair. And then at the end of each chapter, I do Shirley shimmers, which are also little pieces that my mother has given me throughout my life, and so I write the most tremendous stories in here.”
The Strictly judge went on to say: “I feel it’s my best book so far. I’ve written four, and I feel..”
When James pressed her on why, Shirley explained: “Because it’s raw and it’s honest, and it’s perhaps things that people wouldn’t expect me to write about.
James Martin cooked Shirley her favourite dishes(Image: ITV)
“I write about when I was taking too much testosterone, and then I woke up one morning and had hair all over me, arms up my nose, and my ears, and everywhere else you can possibly imagine. I’ll be polite because it’s your show.
“I write about everything to do with finding my way through menopause and navigating my way through different illnesses that I’ve had throughout the time.
“Because people write to me all the time, and I can identify with a lot of what they say. And I think I should have written that in 2019; it should have covered that, because, obviously, I’m a lot older than most who follow me. So, that’s what I did.”
The most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing wrapped up earlier this month with Karen Carney and Carlos Gu claiming victory with the Glitterball Trophy.
The festive special also marked a poignant moment as presenting duo Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly said goodbye, fronting their last ever Strictly Come Dancing show.
You can catch James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITVX.
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