Shirley Ballas has emotionally shared that her proudest achievement this year was reuniting with her son Mark.
The Strictly head judge, 62, had been torn apart from her only child for a heartbreaking three years due to the coronavirus pandemic as Mark, 35, worked in Los Angeles, while she was in the UK.
Now Shirley has said the moment she hugged her son for the first time in three years was her personal highlight of 2022.
"My proudest achievement this year was that I got to fly to the United States and hold my son in my arms after three years of not seeing him.
"That is the proudest moment that I have had this year," she told the Express.
Last year, Shirley spoke of her heartache about not being able to see her son.
She said: "My only real wish for 2022 is that I get to cuddle my son. As has been the case for many other people as far as their loved ones are concerned, I haven't seen him for a long time – not in two-and-a-half years, in fact.
"I just want to spend some time with him, to sit and have a coffee and shoot the breeze."
Mark is the son of Queen of Latin Shirley and American ballroom champion Corky Ballas, so was always destined to be an excellent dancer.
Shirley has been sending words of encouragement to Mark as he competes on Dancing With The Stars with TikTok star Charli D'Amelio.
She wrote on Instagram last week as she shared a video of their moving performance: "I don’t have enough words. This dance was beyond iconic. Phenomenal. A dance from the heart.
"Attention to detail on every front. @markballas your choreography and ideas are out of this world. @charlidamelio you have worked so hard to craft yourself into the most beautiful ballroom dancer and your talent is shining so bright.
"You are the perfect student for Mark. A match made in heaven.
"I’m so very proud of you both. Well done to you both. Enjoy your last week of rehearsals, and dance like never before in that grand finale."
