Alistair McGeorge
Published November 24, 2025 7:53am
Updated November 24, 2025 7:53am
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A Strictly star almost didn’t make it to the Blackpool stage (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
A Strictly Come Dancing star has revealed a ‘terrifying’ ordeal which left her fearing for her life.
The glitz and glamour of the BBC’s Latin and ballroom show rolled into the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom over the weekend, but one of the competition’s most recognisable faces almost didn’t make it.
Strictly bosses were already scrambling this week after La Voix was forced to drop out of the competition due to injury.
Now, head judge Shirley Ballas has said she ‘almost died’ after choking on a fish bone just moments before she was due to take her place on the panel.
She struggled to breathe for ’20 minutes’ backstage at the seaside town’s venue on Saturday night, and her makeup artist Jane Burstow saved the day.
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Jane managed to dislodge the fish bone by performing the Heimlich manoeuvre, with Shirley warning the show would have been a ‘judge down’ if it was not for her quick thinking.
Shirley Ballas ”almost died’ before the show went on air (Picture: Shirley Ballas/Instagram)
Recalling the ‘terrifying’ moment to fans on Instagram, Shirley revealed: “‘I choked on a fish bone.
‘It got lodged in my throat, and my wonderful Jane, who has been with me for nine years, did the Heimlich manoeuvre, and we got the bone out. But for 20 minutes there, it was lodged and I couldn’t breathe so it was terrifying.
What is the Heimlich manoeuvre?
The Heimlich manoeuvre is now more commonly called abdominal thrusts by organisations like the NHS.
It involves someone performing thrusts to dislodge an object that may be stuck in someone’s airways, but it’s not suitable for babies under one year old, or pregnant women.
To perform abdominal thrusts on someone who is severely choking and isn’t in one of those groups, the NHS says you should:
- Stand behind the person who is choking.
- Place your arms around their waist and bend them well forward.
- Clench 1 fist and place it just above the person’s belly button.
- Place your other hand on top of your fist and pull sharply inwards and upwards.
- Repeat this up to 5 times as necessary
‘We’d have been a judge down tonight if it wasn’t for her … Gratitude to Jane because I panicked. I really thought that was it, the end, amen.’
Thankfully, Jane saved Shirley, who was able to take her place alongside fellow judges Craig Revel Horwood, 60, Motsi Mabuse, 44, and Anton Du Beke, 59.
The star is now back in London, and she updated her fans on how she is feeling.
The Strictly judge was saved by her makeup artist (Picture: BBC)
Shirley said the show was almost a star down (Picture: BBC)
‘I’m a bit hoarse, but all is good,’ she said, later adding in a separate post that she ‘almost didn’t make it to the desk last night’.
Inspired by her near death experience, Shirley has now vowed to learn the Heimlich manoeuvre herself in case she ever needs to save someone else’s life.
She said: ‘I’m going to study now in case I ever come across anybody who needs my help.’
Shirley has been head judge on the show since 2017 (Picture: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
The incident happened after Shirley said Strictly will continue ‘long after I’m gone’ amid calls for it to be paused, with hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly stepping down after the current series.
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The star – who replaced the late Len Goodman as head judge in 2017 – told The Sun: ‘Nobody is bigger than Strictly Come Dancing. Not me, not any presenters, not any dancers – that show belongs to the people.
‘When I came on the show in 2017, nobody knew me, and it was, “Oh, will it fail? Will it be this? Will it be that?”
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‘It carried on ticking and it’ll carry on ticking long after I’m gone and kicked my clogs.’
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