Book Review: Behind The Sequins By Shirley Ballas

Strictly's head judge Shirley Ballas has followed in the footsteps of fellow judges Craig and Bruno by publishing her autobiography Behind The Sequins.

I always enjoy autobiographies. I love the opportunity to hear about someone's life told by the person who actually experienced it.

Shirley Ballas come to notoriety later in life, but she was well known in dance circles for a long time before she popped up in our living rooms on a Saturday night.

Shirley tells the story of her life, starting with her less-than-glamourous upbringing in Wallasey. Dance has been a feature of her life since she was a young girl, and like many other dancers she moved out of home very early in order to pursue her dreams.

One thing I took from Shirley's book is the perhaps cautionary note that the grass is not always greener. A couple of times she took risks in her career, and her life, which didn't turn out exactly as she expected. Perhaps she is now a little more calculated in her decisions than she was in those heady days of competition and passionate youth.

It was interesting reading about Shirley's journey to our living rooms, especially the less-than-comfortable first audition to join the panel. It's hard to imagine that the glamourous and confident woman we see on screens now didn't quite get it right first time.

The thing that leaps off the page is how much her son Mark means to her. Her pride in his accomplishments is plain to see. She talks about Mark's life almost as much as her own. If ever Mark Ballas wants a biographer, he has one at the end of the phone. It was also interesting hearing about Shirley's relationship with Derek Hough and Julianne Hough. The siblings were part of Shirley's household for quite some time, living in the UK to pursue their dancing ambitions. Shirley and then-husband Corky treated them like their own children, and she is clearly still very fond of them.

Shirley's book was an enjoyable read, and you can definitely hear her voice as you read it. I learnt a lot about her life before Strictly. 

Behind The Sequins is available now from the usual outlets. An audio version is also available from Audible.

Disclosure: Thank you to the nice folks at Penguin Random House for supplying a copy of the book for me to review.