Shirley Ballas opened up about the health condition in 2024
Shirley Ballas opened up about the health condition in 2024
After revealing on Instagram earlier today she was taken to hospital after suffering a “scary” fall, Shirley Ballas, 65, opened up about another major health battle she had kept secret for years.
In an interview with OK magazine in October 2024, the Wallasey-born Strictly Come Dancing judge has said that it was only after an honest conversation with her mum, Audrey, that she finally decided it was time to open up about a health issue she had suffered with in her younger years.
She said: “It did take a minute when I was invited to do this, because even though I can talk about this among my friends, it’s a bit of a taboo subject.” She added: “But when I sat with my mum Audrey, who’s 87, she said to me, ‘think of all the women you could help, think of all the people out there for whom you could make it not such a taboo subject’.
“She has a much better memory than me and reminded me of some of the things I’ve been through myself.”
Speaking about the health issue for the first time, she said it was during her pregnancy with her son, Mark, that she first started suffering from bladder leaks.
She said: “One of the times leaks have affected me was of course when I gave birth to Mark when I was 25 and I had to wear a sort of napkin and get back to dancing straight away, there was no sort of help for me or anything.
“I gave birth to him and there was nobody there for me, it was just, ‘get back to it and don’t complain.’ I was in pain and I was breast-feeding and I remember my boobs leaking in the church and nobody really cared or helped.
“It wasn’t pretty for me after I gave birth to my son or during menopause. I kept it all very personal, as I did with the menopause, but my mum thinks life is about helping people, that’s why I’m on this mission. So, I think it’s important we talk about bladder leaks, and the more I talk about it, the easier it becomes.”
Meanwhile, in a post on Instagram earlier today she said that she has suffered a fresh health concern.
In a post on her story, she said: “Thank you to all who reached out to see how I’m doing. Scary fall backwards hitting my head on the glass dressing table. Trip to hospital to get a brain scan. Fortunately for me no cracked skull.”
She added: “I’ll rest a few days to heal my neck and back. Hugs [and] thank you to @barbara_mccoll for getting my emergency appointment and to Sammy Stopford for taking me, and sitting with me all day. Gratitude, as the doctor said I was very lucky.”
Her recent health scare comes just before she is set to join her Strictly stars, Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood for the show’s live tour which is due for 30 performances going on until 15 February.
After a career in ballroom dancing, Shirley became a judge on Strictly in 2017 before going on to be made head judge the same year.
