Shirley Ballas said she “thought it was the end” after a horrifying ordeal before the Strictly Come Dancing Blackpool special. The judge, who hails from Wallasey, returned to screens for one of the highlights of the Strictly calendar year on Saturday (November 22).
However, the 65-year-old said she almost didn’t make it to the show after she choked on a fish bone moments before the show. Shirley has taken to Instagram to reflect on the moment as she revealed she was saved by her make-up artist Jane Burstow. She said: “I choked on a fish bone.
“It got lodged in my throat, and my wonderful Jane, who has been with me for nine years, did the Heimlich manoeuvre, and we got the bone out.
“But for 20 minutes there, it was lodged and I couldn’t breathe so it was terrifying. We’d have been a judge down tonight if it wasn’t for her…
“Gratitude to Jane because I panicked. I really thought that was it, the end, amen.” Shirley has vowed to learn the Heimlich manoeuvre after the ordeal.
She said: “I’m going to study now in case I ever come across anybody who needs my help.” Shirley was back in the judging seat, alongside Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood on Saturday.
No contestant was eliminated from the contest as drag queen La Voix had to withdraw following an injury. Tess Daly confirmed the sad news at the top of Saturday’s episode.
She said: “Speaking at the start of Saturday’s episode, presenter Tess Daly said: “Now, as you may have heard, La Voix sustained an injury, meaning that she can’t dance in Blackpool tonight, and following further advice from our medical team, we can now confirm she has very sadly had to withdraw from the competition.”
La Voix is the second star to withdraw from the competition this season as Stefan Dennis also pulled out due to an injury. Dani Dyer and Kristian Nairn exited the contest before it started due to injury.
Emmerdale star Lewis Cope topped the leaderboard with a perfect 40 score after another entertaining evening of dancing. The actor wowed the judges with his Charleston to Arctic Monkeys’ I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, alongside partner Katya Jones.
Former England Lioness-turned-football pundit Karen Carney and her dance partner Carlos Gu were close behind, scoring 39 for their paso doble to Carmina Burana’s O Fortuna.
Reality TV star Amber Davies and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin received a score of 36 for their quickstep to S Club 7 song Reach.
Alex Kingston and her dance partner Johannes Radebe scored 35 for their couple’s choice to a mash-up of History Repeating by Propellerheads and Look At Me by Geri Halliwell.
EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and dancer Julian Caillon scored 33 for their Argentine tango to The Logical Song by Supertramp. The scores will carry over to next week’s episode when the next contestant will be eliminated.