Yahoo News Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas denies claims she wants her son as Darcey Bussell's replacement
Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas has denied claims she wants her son Mark as Dame Darcey Bussell's replacement.
Darcey stepped down from the dancing competition's judging panel in April, following seven successful series on the BBC show.
Now, Shirley has rubbished recent reports that she wants her son to join her, Craig Revel-Horwood and Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel.
Speaking to Metro, she said: "I never said that. As usual, things get twisted. I never said that at all."
The false reports about her son Mark were fuelled by his 10 years of experience as a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC show Dancing With The Stars.
When asked for other suggestions, Shirley refrained from mentioning any names, saying: "I think the BBC would do an amazing job with whomever they pick as long as they feel they are qualified and they fit the rest of the panel. I am sure it would be absolutely spectacular."
The judge recently revealed to Digital Spy at the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards 2019 that she has no idea who will be taking Darcey's place on the show, but is confident that the producers will come to the right decision.
"I think whoever the BBC executive producers pick... I'm sure they've studied it... they what will work well with the other judges for the show," she said. "So I'm optimistic that they will do the job perfectly."
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One later this year.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
('You Might Also Like',)
