‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Head Judge Shirley Ballas has weighed in on the recent drama involving celebrity contestant Seann Walsh and his professional partner Katya Jones.
Shirley appeared on Wednesday’s ‘This Morning’, where she was asked about the media furore surrounding Seann and Katya, who were caught on camera kissing each other over the weekend.
Looking ahead to the weekend, she said: “I shall go out on Saturday, with everybody, enjoying the show, and be ready to see the dancing, judging without fear or favour.”
Presenter Phillip Schofield then accused her of “dodging” the issue, pressing her further, to which she insisted she wouldn’t let the headlines cloud her judgement on the panel.
“I’m there to judge a competition about dancing,” she insisted. “I’m not there to judge anybody’s private life. And I just get out there, everybody comes, they do their best, so that’s what everybody will be looking forward to on Saturday.”
Both Seann and Katya posted apologies on their social media accounts after Sunday night’s results show aired, with the latter insisting that the incident was not a reflection on her marriage.
Seann’s now-ex Rebecca Humphries followed this a day later with her own statement, in which she suggested the comedian had branded her a “psycho” after she questioned whether anything was going on when he chose to spend her birthday with his dance partner rather than her.
Following Rebecca’s statement, Seann faced pressure from some ‘Strictly’ fans to bow out of the competition, though it’s now been confirmed that he and Katya will be performing a Charleston in this week’s live show.
‘This Morning’ airs every weekday from 10.30am on ITV.