Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas issued ‘stern warning’ hours before first live show

STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has been issued a ‘stern warning’ hours before first live show.

The 63-year-old is due to return to our screens as part of the judging panel for this year’s series of the BBC competition.

Strictly legend Shirley joined the programme in 2017, after taking over from late Len Goodman – and over the past six years has received some very nasty messages online.

The former ballroom dancer has previously spoken about it has affected her – and has even thought about leaving the show because of it.

Dom Aldworth, head of brand marketing at , has revealed what what she can do to stay positive.

He told the: “Ballas needs to remember that whilst it is easy to fixate on negative comments, there is huge amounts of positivity online too.

“Taking time away from social media and reaching out for support when trolling gets too much will help Ballas throughout the series.”

Despite being trolled, the expert believes that being on the BBC show is a great career move.

He said: “Career-wise this is a great decision for Ballas. From magazine covers to book deals, there is no doubt Ballas benefits from the exposure and opportunities the show gives her.

“However, it is evident that trolling negatively impacts the former professional dancer.”

“Unfortunately, online hate is not rare for TV stars especially those starring on shows as popular as Strictly which draw in millions of viewers each week.

“As head judge, everything Ballas says will be hyper-analysed by Strictly fans and Ballas has already received some criticism for revealing she has a soft spot for contestant, Angela Rippon.”

Earlier this week Shirley sparked concern that she could miss the first episode of the series.

On Wednesday she found herself bedbound, telling fans she thought that she had caught something.

The following date she updated fans with a video getting back to work.

Shirley said: “Good morning, everybody. So I’m back at work today and I wanted to thank everybody for their wonderful messages yesterday.

“And you also said to try some Manuka honey and water and that seemed to do the trick. So I’ve got my Manuka honey here, got my water and my lemon. I’ll be having that all day today.

“Feeling a lot brighter this morning. So again, thank you for your messages.”