Strictly ballroom for Cinders' Shirley

Published: 9 February 2020
Reporter: David Upton

Shirley Ballas Credit: Charming Pantomimes

When pantomime returns to Blackpool Winter Gardens for the first time in 60 years, Shirley Ballas will star as The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella from December 13 to January 3.

She will not be performing on December 19 due to Strictly Come Dancing commitments but says, "I'm so thrilled to be coming home to Blackpool this Christmas. I have made so many special memories there. To be coming back to be part of the first pantomime there in more than 60 years is such an honour!"

Shirley is a champion ballroom dancer and head judge on BBC1’s Strictly. She is the only person ever to have won the British Open to the World Latin American Championships in Blackpool with two different partners and has won the title three times, having reached the final 17 times. She is a ten-time United States Latin American champion and the recipient of three Carl Alan Awards, the Oscars of the dance world.

Shirley made her pantomime debut as Mother Nature in Jack and the Beanstalk in Liverpool, a role she reprised last year in Darlington.

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