Shirley Ballas has shared a special family update as she takes time away from her busy Strictly Come Dancing schedule. The head judge of the BBC dance show sent a heartfelt message to her grandson as he celebrated his birthday.
On Instagram yesterday, Shirley shared a video of her grandson Banksi running into her arms before she lifted him into the air. She captioned the post: “Two years old… where did the time go little Banksi Wylde. Nanny and Great Grandma would like to wish you the best birthday ever.
“You are the sweetest, cutest, most beautiful little boy. I cannot put into words how much I love you. I’m very excited to see you again and give you a biggest cuddle. Have a remarkable day with Mummy, Daddy and any little friends that come over to play. Get up to lots of fun. We love you to the moon and back.”
In December 2023, son and dancer Mark Ballas announced the arrival of the baby boy, who was born on November 5. He celebrated becoming a dad with a social media post a month after Banksi’s birth. At the time, he wrote: “Welcome to Earth my son. Banksi Wylde Ballas 11 / 5 / 23.”
Sharing the heartwarming story of how she found out about the birth, Shirley explained: “I didn’t know [he had been born] until I got the call and had all my eyelashes and glam on and my son said ‘you look very glamorous’ and then held up little Banksi and said ‘here’s your grandson’. It was really quite a shock and surprise.”
She described her grandson as a “long awaited little boy” who was already her “pride and joy”. Shirley’s son was expecting a baby back in October 2022 but it was sadly discovered during a routine check-up that the baby no longer had a heartbeat.
Birthday messages were left on the heartwarming post shared by Shirley.
Ola Jordan wrote: “Happy Birthday Banksi” and James Jordan added “Beautiful” with a red heart emoji.
Fans commented “LOVE this!!! So adorable. Happy 2nd Birthday Banksi” and “Happy Birthday to your gorgeous grandson”, others wrote “Being a nanny is the best feeling, isn’t it, I hope you get to give Banksi the biggest snuggles very soon, you must miss them so much.”
Shirley is one of the most renowned and decorated professional dancers in the world.
She is a former British Open to the World Champion, and European, German, UK, USA and International Latin American Champion.
In 1996, Shirley retired from competitive dancing and has since acted as an international coach and is now the head judge on Strictly.
Speaking about Strictly to the BBC, she said: “Strictly is so loved by the British public, I have always been a massive fan.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday November 8 at 6.25pm.