Christmas with the STARS

SHIRLEY BALLAS

‘I want a proposal for Christmas’

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas, 59, lives in London after moving from Los Angeles to take care of her mum.

I’m spending Christmas with my mother, my son and his wife and their dog Hendrix, and my dog Charlie. We’ve booked a nice restaurant to go to for a family lunch.

Christmas is about loved ones. It’s important to show your gratitude for where you are in your life and for those loved ones around you. I think it’s about spending quality time with them.

I’m so excited for my first Christmas with my boyfriend, Danny. We’ve got the run-up with the panto [Danny co-stars in Jack and the Beanstalk with Shirley at Darlington Hippodrome]. We’ll learn more about each other, although we already get on well. He has changed my whole perception on Christmas. I’d love Danny to ask me to marry him this Christmas!

A tradition of mine is that I always buy a box of Marks &