Shirley Ballas 'set to join Dancing with the Stars as a guest judge while juggling Strictly duties'
Shirley Ballas is reportedly set to guest judge on Dancing with the Stars in Los Angeles while juggling her Strictly Come Dancing commitments in the UK.
Shirley Ballas is reportedly hopping across the pond to join Dancing with the Stars as a guest judge - while juggling her duties on Strictly Come Dancing.
The transatlantic dash will see the 66-year-old fan favourite jet to Los Angeles for ABC's Latin and Ballroom dance show in the coming weeks before flying back to London in time for the BBC counterpart, which she joined in 2017.
A source told The Sun newspaper's TVBiz column: "Shirley will fly to the US later this month after the Strictly live show finishes.
"She will then film Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, before flying back to the UK for Strictly the following day.
"It’s a whirlwind schedule but she jumped at the chance to take part."
While the Stateside gig is a one-off for now, Shirley could be in line to make regular appearances if she wows bosses of Dancing with the Stars.
The source said: "This is just a one-off for this run but if the US TV bosses think Shirley is a hit, they’re sure to see if she would come back."
Shirley's move comes hot off the heels of her stint judging spin-off Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro alongside her 40-year-old son Mark Ballas, a professional dancer on the main programme.
A source added: "TV bosses in the US loved Shirley on the spin-off. That’s why they booked her for the main run. She translated so well with the American audience and rated really well."
The Queen of Latin is not the first judge to juggle Strictly Come Dancing with its US counterpart, with Bruno Tonioli and the late Len Goodman both having crossed the Atlantic for more than a decade to appear on Dancing with the Stars.
Bruno, 70, who is a judge on the ABC show, quit the UK version in 2022 because of the gruelling transatlantic commute.
He previously said: "I just couldn’t do the flying any more.
"I don’t know how I survived that schedule. To be honest, it’s a miracle."
Like Bruno, Len, who died from prostate cancer in April 2023 at the age of 78, was a fixture on both shows from the start, joining Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, and Dancing with the Stars a year later.
Len quit Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, and Dancing with the Stars seven years later.
