Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas has slammed reports that she held the BBC show at ransom with pay rise demands.
The head judge was rumoured to have teamed up with her fellow judges to ask for a significant wage increase, which was said to have left the professional dancers, who put in the back-breaking work for a fraction of the judges’ fees, fuming.
It was said that bosses gave into Ballas’s requests because they feared she’d walk after being subjected to trolling during the last series.
However, the 62-year-old pushed back on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today to defend herself amid the viewer backlash.
Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls, she said: "First of all, there was no arguing with the BBC over pay.
“We’re in a cost-of-living crisis – finances in different homes are very very difficult and all that we’re reading...
“It is absolutely not true [that I have a £55,000 rise]. No arguing, it is what it is. The people are vigilant, we are vigilant, the BBC is vigilant.
“We are going through a crisis – you look at the nurses and all these people who need the pay rises, that’s what it is."
A source told the Mirror: “Shirley had the bosses in a real panic that she might decide to walk and focus on other projects, like her books and dance competition, The Ballas Cup.
“They pulled out all the stops to offer her a raise. Thankfully, it looks like she will accept. The trolling is still very fresh in her mind but she is keen to focus on the positives – and she has hired someone to manage her social media so won’t see the most vicious remarks.”
Last month, the star admitted she reached an “all-time low” after receiving a torrent of abuse online during the last series.
“Last year I was struggling. It wasn’t just a little bit, it was a lot – the majority of it was in silence,” she told the publication.
“I felt the abuse snowballed out of control and impacted me in such a negative way. I’m a pretty stoic person, and I tend to hold everything in.
“When it all kicked off, it seemed like it was larger than anything else. I was crying, I was emotional, but I was embarrassed about being so emotional. I didn’t want to talk to anybody about it.
“And that was an all-time low since I joined the show – it was the most negativity I’d ever experienced. The BBC were brilliant, checking in on me and offering counselling and support.”
Ballas’ son Mark will be taking charge of her social media accounts going forward.
The full line-up of judges and professional dancers for this year’s Strictly was confirmed last week amid reported chaos behind the scenes.
Ballas will be back on the judging panel alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
The Sun had reported that they had backed down on their demands for a 11 per cent pay rise and accepted an offer of between 3 and 5 per cent.
