Shirley Ballas has taken to Instagram amid the controversy that saw her reportedly breaking the Strictly Come Dancing rules after she took part in a luxury cruise that riffs on the dancing competition.
Strictly's head judge, who has been appearing on the show's judging panel since 2017, joined a luxury, Strictly-themed MSC cruise in which she acted as a judge, photographed with a distinctive paddle as she critiqued the dancers' footwork. According to the Daily Mail, Ballas received £10,000 for the gig.
Now, Ballas has taken to her social media to cool off the rumours swirling after her cruise stint, with the Mail also reporting that the BBC is unhappy at the judge's participation in the unauthorised event.
On Instagram, Ballas posted a smiley snap of herself soaking in an ice bath with the caption: "3 minutes and I was freezing but I'm still smiling."
Ballas hasn't addressed the Strictly-themed cruise controversy directly, but the BBC commented on the incident in a statement to Metro.co.uk.
"Certain use of programme IP without permission risks confusing audiences – and may give the impression that the BBC has endorsed activity when it hasn't," it said.
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"Where we identify such use, appropriate steps are taken to prevent it happening again.
"Any profit generated from the approved commercial use of our IP is reinvested into the BBC, supporting high-quality content for licence fee payers."
Regarding Ballas's participation in the cruise, the statement continued: "We have clear guidelines around an individual's commercial activities while working with the BBC, and they are regularly reminded of these guidelines."
Digital Spy has reached out to Ballas' reps for comment.
Announced in February this year in a since-deleted press release on the MSC website, the Strictly-style cruise departed from Southampton on 9 May heading to Norway, and featured a dance masterclass, Q&A with the show's judge, and a meet-and-greet.
Strictly Come Dancing returns on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in September.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
