Yahoo News BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas leaves fans 'screaming' in unexpected TV return with co-star
Shirley Ballas has been told she left fans 'screaming at their TV screens' as she made an unexpected return to the box during Saturday night's (May 11) viewing alongside her Strictly Come Dancing co-star.
While there is still months to go until the hit dance competition returns, Shirley surprised BBC One viewers as she made a cameo appearance in Doctor Who alongside professional dancer Johannes Radebe.
A new era of the hit Sci-Fi show was ushered in at the end of 2023, with former showrunner Russell T Davies back at the helm. Whovians were treated to special episodes featuring previous stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate before meeting Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor in the third 60th anniversary special when the Doctor "bi-generated".
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His first solo full-length episode on Christmas Day saw him encounter future companion Ruby Sunday, played by former Coronation Street star Millie Gibson. But the new full-length series, with eight episodes, starring the pair began on Saturday night with a double bill.
As the 14th series got underway, after encountering the Maestro amid the rise of Beatlemania, both the Doctor and Ruby broke out into a frenzied dance as the Doctor warned his partner his adventures "always" ended with a twist.
And it was quite the twist as the pair joined by several other characters showing off their moves before they were eventually in the company of Shirley and Johannes, leaving those tuned in with their jaws dropped.
Over on X, formerly known as Twitter, one said of the unexpected crossover: "JOHANNES RADEBE?! SHIRLEY BALLAS?! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE AND NOT ON STRICTLY?!" Another asked: "Shirley Ballas and Johannes Radebe off Strictly?! #DoctorWho," while a third added: "the way i gasped when jojo appeared! what a crossover #doctorwho #strictly."
Following the surprise in the episode, Shirley took to Instagram with snaps of herself and Johannes taking during filming and said: "Did you all catch darling Jojo and I in the brand new series of @bbcdoctorwho? @johannesradebe..." She added: "What an honour and total joy it was to dance with the talented cast @ncutigatwa @milliegibbo. I think the new series is going to be exciting. Thank you for having me be a part of something special. Loooved it."
And the comments quickly came flooding in. Reverand Kate Bottley said: "I screamed at the telly!!!" @landebooker commented: "I loved it, you were both Fabulous." @geminigilly replied: "Absolutely brilliant episode and such a treat to see you too!"
@mrs_c51 wrote: "I thought I was going mad when I saw you and jojo just brilliant." @leeds230 shared: "Oh wow, that was amazing. You were both brilliant, what a lovely surprise to see you both." @mckevittsandra posted: "Loved it a-maz-ing!" @catzeees added: "It made me smile. Very much."
