Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas says ‘my toyboy days are behind me’

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has said “my toyboy days are behind me” as she revealed does not think she “will ever have another relationship”.

The 64-year-old former professional dancer who split with her partner Danny Taylor in December after six years together, told The Mirror that if she ever did have another relationship “it would have to be with somebody that was much more calm”.

Ballas, who has been married twice, was engaged to Taylor but later decided she did not want to get married again.

Speaking of her break-up with Taylor, who is 13 years her junior, Ballas told the newspaper: “We weren’t growing together any more, and I was getting more and more worried about things that were going on in his life, and I already have a lot of things to worry about.

“I just needed some peace.”

The Cheshire-born star said she was contacted by a relative of Taylor one night late last year saying he had gone missing.

Her older brother David took his own life in 2003 at the age of 44, and the dancer said: “All those memories came flooding back … it triggered all these emotions.”

Ballas said she now thinks she will not have another partner.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have another relationship, but if I did, it would have to be with somebody that was much more calm and saw us growing in the same direction,” she told the newspaper.

“But that doesn’t mean that those six years I had with Danny, I didn’t adore him. I just didn’t really have a choice.”

She added: “I think my toyboy days are behind me. I reckon anything from 55 to 70 if they’re fit.”

  Published: 30/08/2025 by Radio NewsHub