Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas reveals she 'couldn't breathe' minutes before Saturday's show in 'terrifying' ordeal

The dancer, 64, took to social media to share that she choked on a fishbone minutes before taking to the stage for the annual Blackpool live episode of the BBC show. Shirley revealed that her hairstylist Jane came to her rescue.

She said: “I choked on a fishbone. 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.”

She added: “We’d have been a judge down tonight if it wasn’t for her.” In an update to fans, Shirley revealed that she was “a bit hoarse” but “all is good”.

The dancer, who has been head judge on the BBC Saturday night favourite since 2017, also told fans that following her own ordeal, she would be learning the Heimlich manoeuvre herself for the future. Shirley said: “I’m going to study now in case I ever come across anybody who needs my help.”

Despite the incident happening mere minutes before the show kicked off on Saturday night, Shirley appeared on the programme as scheduled alongside her fellow judges Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse, and Craig Revel Horwood.

The BBC favourite return to Blackpool ballroom for its annual special episode and while there was plenty of drama for Shirley behind the scenes, there was also no shortage of drama for viewers. It was revealed to fans that drag queen La Voix had been forced to withdraw from the competition completely after suffering an injury in training earlier in the week.

While the former RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star had been hoping to return to the competition after a week recovery, they revealed that doctors had advised them not to continue in the competition at all. Appearing on the results show alongside partner Aljaž Škorjanec, La Voix joked: “I’ve come into this show as a minority… as a redhead… you’ve just all embraced me wonderfully. I just I cannot thank you enough for just this most magical, magical journey has been amazing.”

Aljaž added: “La Voix had everyone in stitches on a Saturday and Sunday night, but I was in stitches seven days a week. You know, we always say ‘I’ve made a friend for life’ on Strictly, but I’ve been lucky this year, because I feel like I made two friends for life.”

Elsewhere, the remaining Strictly stars were informed that La Voix’s withdrawal from the competition meant that no one was going home, giving more cause to celebrate on Blackpool week. The leaderboard scores and votes cast for the celebrities are being carried over to next week, when the next elimination will take place.