Sick trolls send me pics of coffins wishing me dead – I’m afraid to leave my house, says Strictly’s Shirley Ballas
STRICTLY head judge Shirley Ballas says death threats from trolls have left her scared to leave her home.
The star, 63, reveals the increasingly violent and sexual messages have left her constantly on guard.
And she can never relax for fear the trolls are “lurking in dark corners or hiding behind walls”.
Scared Strictly star Shirley says trolls have launched increasingly vicious attacks on her, revealing: “I’ve had people draw coffins with me in it with somebody with a spade that said, ‘Die you bitch’.”
The head judge has previously considered quitting the BBC1 show over abuse she’s received in the past six years.
But only now has she shared the vile details of the messages she says have changed her life, and left her afraid to leave the house.
She says: “It’s when it is personal about myself and my family and it affects my mental health. I am not just talking about your phone.
“I am talking about being in public. You worry about those same strange people that write these kinds of messages.
“Are they lurking in dark corners? Are they hiding behind walls when you go somewhere?”
Shirley outlines her fears on new ITVX documentary Olivia Attwood vs The Trolls.
She tells the former Love Island and I’m A Celeb star: “Sometimes at night, I lie there and wonder, Are they suffering? Are they lonely? Is it funny to them?”
“This whole experience has made me much more vigilant.
“I cannot say that I leave my front door unless I am on point. I never relax. It has changed my life completely I would say.”
Shirley revealed earlier this year how she considered not returning to Strictly over abuse, without revealing its full extent.
Last year she was accused of being sexist and showing favouritism towards male competitors.
The accusation resurfaced last Saturday after she scored three female contestants lower than the other judges — Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
But Shirley says she feels the greatest distress at messages which go way beyond criticism of her as a TV judge.
In Olivia’s documentary, Shirley shows her phone containing some of the abusive messages.
Olivia reads some out before branding them abhorrent.
Some are from 20-something men who go into sickening details about the warped sexual fantasies they have about Shirley.
She says: “These are some of the very sexual messages that I get constantly from various different people.”
And she says they are the tip of the iceberg adding: “Some are so nerve racking that I can’t show you.”
Olivia says she is surprised by how Shirley appears so strong and confident on TV when she has so much going on behind the scenes.
Shirley replies: “That’s in front of the camera, it’s behind the smile.”
Shirley, who has dated actor Danny Taylor, 50, for five years is known as the Queen of Latin after winning so many dance championships.
She signed as Strictly head judge in 2017, replacing Len Goodman.
But she wasn’t prepared for the attention she would receive online.
Shirley tells Olivia: “I think as I’ve grown into the show I’ve become more aware of things.
“In 2017 and 2018 I wasn’t so aware because I wasn’t on social media. But now, you know, everybody’s on social media.”
Speaking towards the end of last year’s Strictly she said: “I’m taking two-and-a-half weeks off because of the immense amount of trolling I got this series.
“I decided I wouldn’t do panto this year. Last time I did it, I got a letter hand-delivered to the theatre that was very off-putting.
“I actually kept it. I don’t know why. So I’m going to take some time off and just get myself together.”
She added: “I’ve enjoyed the series but I’m not going to stand here and lie to you — it took its emotional toll. The names I’ve been called! I couldn’t even repeat them to you.”
Confirming she’d been to a doctor, she added: “I’m emotional and low. It did affect me this year.”
Four months later Shirley told ITV’s Good Morning Britain she had contemplated not returning to the dance show because of the abuse.
But despite the trolling trauma, she still sees her head judge role as an overwhelmingly positive one.
Speaking to Olivia, Shirley says: “I got this job at 57. I wasn’t in this industry all my life.
“I love this experience, the fact I can help all the charities. I love those channels that this job gives me but it also gives you this other side.”
She also adds: “For every ten awful messages I get, I will get 1,000 brilliant messages.”
Richie row and ladies’ low scores
SHIRLEY Ballas is used to dealing with online comments, though most of them revolve around critiques of her judging on Strictly.
Last year she was at the centre of a social media storm when she kept BBC TV presenter Richie Anderson in the competition at the expense of radio DJ Fleur East.
Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all voted to keep Fleur after a hotly-contested dance-off. Audiences at home seemed to agree. Some people took to social media to suggest Shirley was sexist.
And on Saturday night’s show the same criticism was levelled at her again, albeit for a different reason, with the studio audience booing her.
This time she scored three female contestants — documentary maker Zara McDermott, TV host Angela Rippon and former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach — lower than all the other judges.
She even scored lower than Craig who is normally the meanest member of the panel. He branded Shirley “picky”.
But a BBC insider dismissed the comments as conspiracy theories and insisted they judged the contestants solely on their dance ability.