Shirley Ballas' Christmas plans with son: 'I'll toast my brother’s memory'
But instead of a colossal Christmas soiree, or feeding 15 dinner guests, Strictly Come Dancing matriarch Shirley Ballas is opting for a low-key holiday season, surrounded by her closest loved ones.
Shirley’s face lights up when she talks about Mark, 36, the current Dancing With The Stars champion, who lives in the States with his wife, singer-songwriter BC Jean. Despite feeling joy at the prospect of being reunited with her son, December is understandably a tough month for Shirley's family, as her beloved brother David took his own life on 5 December 2003, after suffering from depression.
Shirley also recalls her mother Audrey Rich, 85, taking her to the "best" Christmas party she'd ever been to when she and her brother David were youngsters.
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