Shirley Ballas has revealed her first audition didn't go exactly as planned after a three-word comment from judge Craig Revel Horwood. The Merseyside-born dancer joined the hit show in 2017 when she was 57 years old, replacing the now late Len Goodman, and the role breathed new life into her career and brought with it plenty of new fans and followers. However, the mum-of-one admitted that her initial Strictly audition hit an early snag when she was asked to critique Ann Widdecombe's 2010 performance at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom.
Ann was partnered with professional Anton Du Beke with both dressed in bright canary yellow outfits, with Anton spinning Ann around the floor with arms flailing. The judges compared the former Tory MP to haemorrhoids and the pair received the lowest score out of all the contestants ar 13 out of 40. Speaking to the Telegraph, Shirley admitted that she was lost for words when asked to provide feedback on Ann's performance, especially after a comment from Craig.
She said: "I'd just flown in from the States and I had all my make-up and hair on, and this long evening dress, and I arrived at this freezing cold studio with cameras everywhere. I sat next to Craig Revel Horwood who I'd never met, and he said, "We're going to throw somebody up on the screen, Shirley, and you will have 15 to 20 seconds to critique them. And then we'll move on.
" "Well, they threw up Ann Widdecombe. I'm a world-class coach and I'd never quite seen anyone in a yellow fluffy dress .