Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed that her boyfriend is planning to propose - and has even bought her an engagement ring.
The ballroom dancer, 62, has been dating her partner Danny Taylor, 49, since around 2019. And she has teased that it's only a matter of time before they become engaged.
She commented in a recent interview that he seems reluctant to propose to her, despite having bought an engagement ring for the occasion almost a year ago.
Shirley said Danny has told her he'll propose in his own time. She added: "I'm always giving him a nudge. But the more you nudge him, the more he takes ten steps back. So let's see when he's ready."
Shirley explained during her interview with the Sun that Danny has never been married, though she herself has been married twice.
During the interview with the outlet, she also addressed allegations that she favours male contestants over their female counterparts in the dance competition.
It comes following the claim by some viewers that Shirley, 62 - who has been head judge on the BBC show since 2017 - is biased towards men competing on the popular TV show.
She's since responded to such an accusation and further discussed the situation in a recent interview, saying that the fate of contestants is determined more by the viewers.
Shirley said: "Everybody has a favourite, but not everybody is voting as we saw Richie [Anderson] leave. That is all down to the votes. I'm not the one who puts them there."
The controversy came when Richie, 35, ended up in the dance-off against Fleur East, 34. The other three judges saved the latter, whilst Shirley said she'd have saved Richie.
Shirley reminded the outlet that "somebody has to go home" each week, with her adding that she'd supported Kaye Adams, 59, when she was up against Matt Goss, 54.
The pair were in the first dance-off this year. The other judges voted to save Matt, whilst out-voted head judge Shirley said she would have chosen to save Kaye instead.
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Discussing Kaye in the recent interview, Shirley said she had showed "a lot of promise" and added that it "would have been nice" to see her progress further in the contest.
Shirley has previously addressed the claim she favours male contestants, saying of the criticism whilst at the Pride of Britain Awards: "I don't ignore it. I take my job seriously".
And whilst on Loose Women a few weeks ago, she explained: "Sometimes when you watch your TV screen, you only see half of what I'm seeing [in the TV studio]."
Addressing the sexism allegations whilst on the ITV talk show earlier this month, the head judge commented about her feedback and opinion: "I have to judge what I like".
She has recently encouraged Strictly fans to be respectful and to just "enjoy the show". Shirley made the remark after receiving "hurtful messages" from some viewers.
Strictly Come Dancing continues tomorrow (October 29) with its Halloween special on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 6.50pm. The results show will air Sunday at 7.20pm.
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