Dancing and marriages At the age of 15, Ballas moved to
Shipley, West Yorkshire to live with the family of new partner, British Ballroom Champion, Nigel Tiffany, which she described as "a difficult time". The two married when Ballas was 18, with the relationship ending five years later. In 1985, she married American ballroom dancer
Corky Ballas. and 1996 The pair moved to
Houston,
Texas to compete in the US. Their only child, professional ballroom dancer
Mark Ballas, was born in 1986. Ballas stopped competing in dance competitions in 1996, becoming a dance coach and judge for ballroom and Latin American competitions. In December 2023, Ballas was the guest for BBC Radio 4's
Desert Island Discs, where her choices included "
Smells Like Teen Spirit" by
Nirvana, "
Moon River" by
Frank Sinatra, "Highs and Lows" by
Alexander Jean.
Television Ballas has appeared on
Dancing with the Stars, giving master classes and commentating on the show. Following a selection process which attracted many candidates, on 9 May 2017, she was officially announced as the replacement for
Len Goodman as head judge of Strictly Come Dancing. She made her first appearance on the panel four months later - at the launch show of
series 15 on 9 September that year. In January 2024, Ballas participated in the
fifth series of
The Masked Singer UK as the character "Rat". She was eliminated and unmasked in the third episode. == Advocacy ==