Shirley Ballas accuses 'diva' campmate of being 'entitled' on Celebrity Bear Hunt
Shirley Ballas braved the Costa Rican jungle with Boris Becker, Danny Cipriani, Lottie Moss, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Steph McGovern, Leomie Anderson, Kola Bokinni, Joe Thomas, Zuhair Hassan, Una Healy and Mel B but said her experience was ruined by one star. The Netflix hit sees stars try to outrun survival expert Bear in a series of cat and mouse-style challenges. Strictly Come Dancing star Shirley is used to working with celebrities under pressure but admits one “diva” made things tricky for the rest of the gang.
“There’s always somebody in a group that thinks they’re more entitled than the rest,” says Shirley. “If they tell me my bus will be ready at 9am then I’m there at quarter to nine, I am that person. When you have to hang around waiting for divas, that doesn’t work well with me, I wouldn’t say it was all plain sailing.”
Shirley didn’t reveal the identity of the “diva” in the camp but admits she’s looking forward to watching the show to see if producers edited out their behaviour - or left it in to let fans see. “It wasn’t 12 little Snow Whites, put it that way,” says Shirley. “It’s when you get someone who thinks they’re entitled then it’s a bit more difficult.”
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Aside from the diva Shirley is tactfully not naming, the dancer made deep friendships, and has kept in touch with Boris, Danny, Steph and Kate Moss’s little sister Lottie. And she enjoyed cooking with Zuhair – aka Big Zuu – who she says is “competitive”.
“I missed little Lottie Moss when I came home,” says Shirley. “You read things in the newspaper about people, but when you actually get to know them, they’re just gorgeous. And she was just gorgeous. She was sweet. Danny Cipriani, another gentleman there.
I think he thought, ‘I’ve got my grandmother here, let me take care of her.’ So he was just like you would expect your son to be.”
In the Costa Rican jungle, Shirley encountered snakes, pumas and crabs and every morning when she woke up her mosquito net was laden with trapped critters. Filming finished last summer, but months later Shirley is still suffering with “anxiety moments” over the challenge. The toughest part was facing Bear in the “Bear Pit”, a fenced area of rainforest where they have to use their skills to avoid Bear and his traps before eventually escaping. However, she’s proud of her achievements. “There is an action hero in everybody,” says Shirley. “I did my best for my age. I focused and did the tasks in hand. If you fail the task, you end up in the Bear Pit. That was a terrifying experience. I’m still having anxiety moments about that.”
One person that helped Shirley’s anxiety was host Holly Willoughby, who Shirley says kindly encouraged all the contestants. “Holly clapped everybody on,” says Shirley. “She was kind and a great sport. They couldn’t have picked anyone better. She was a real leader.”
When she signed up to Celebrity Bear Hunt , Shirley Ballas knew she’d have to conquer her phobias. However, there was
one fear she never thought she’d overcome: being alone.
Strictly judge Shirley, 64, who recently split from former fiancé Danny Taylor, describes herself as “co-dependent” and admits she’s always been frightened of being by herself.
“I’ve always been nervous of my own company,” Shirley tells OK !. “I’m co-dependent on my mum and my kids and stuff, so I kind of learnt it’s OK to be on your own.”
S hirley, who announced her split from Danny in November last year and labelled her love life as a “disaster”, flew to Costa Rica to film the Netflix show alongside celebrities including Danny Cipriani, Lottie Moss and Boris Becker. She learnt all sorts of survival skills from Bear Grylls, but she thinks that learning to be by herself is the most valuable.
“I’ve never really lived alone,” explains Shirley. “I don’t like that. But now I quite like to go to my room and to have my space and do my thing, and I’m learning to like my own company. It’s taken many years.”
Love splits are always hard, but as well as her TV career, Shirley is throwing herself into her greatest job yet – being a grandma to 14-month-old Banksi Wylde. “I’ve just come home from seeing him,” says Shirley, a huge smile lighting up her face. “He’s my new boyfriend. That little boy is 14 months old and he’s the love of my life.”
Shirley’s dancer son Mark and his wife BC Jean welcomed their first son in late 2023 and Shirley regularly flies out to America to help care for him. When she’s in the UK, she video calls him. “I got to bathe him and take care of him,” smiles Shirley. “When he sees me he puts his arms out because he remembers me.”
While Shirley learnt to be at peace with herself on the Celebrity Bear Hunt trip, she also enjoyed spending time with her fellow celebrities – especially former tennis champion Boris Becker, 57.
“I was speechless when he came in and I saw those big blue eyes,” says Shirley. “We became good friends in a short space of time. A gentleman seems to be a thing of the past but not with him. He took care of you, he checked in on you. He will forever be in my heart. I’m in love with that man. He’s just fabulous.”
Boris’s daughter Anna Ermakova, 24, won the German version of Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, and now Shirley wants Boris to join her on the UK show, where she is head judge. “I want him to take part on Strictly here,” says Shirley. “He’s got lovely posture and a lovely demeanour. He would be good on the show.”
Celebrity Bear Hunt starts on February 5. Watch Shirley and her celebrity pals battle with Bear on Netflix.
