Shirley Ballas reveals she ‘couldn’t breathe’ for 20 minutes after choking on a fish bone before Strictly’s Blackpool live show: ‘I really thought that was it’
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Shirley Ballas was left unable to breathe for 20 minutes after choking on a fish bone just minutes before her Strictly Come Dancing Blackpool special.
The 65-year-old chief judge revealed he almost missed Saturday’s show due to the ‘horrific’ incident.
Shirley’s makeup artist, Jane Burstow, came to her rescue and performed the Heimlich maneuver, clearing the blockage.
Reminding fans of the ‘terrible’ moment on Instagram, Shirley said: ‘I choked on fish bones.
‘It got stuck in my throat and my wonderful Jane, who has been with me for nine years, did the Heimlich maneuver and we removed the bone. But it was stuck there for 20 minutes and I couldn’t breathe, so it was scary.
‘If it wasn’t for him, we would have dominated tonight…’
Shirley Ballas felt unable to breathe for 20 minutes after swallowing a fish bone just before the Strictly Come Dancing Blackpool special
Panic-stricken 65-year-old chief judge says he almost missed Saturday’s show due to ‘horrific’ incident
‘I’m grateful to Jane because I panicked. I really thought that was the end of it, amen.’
Shirley is now back in London and updated her fans on how she feels.
Yıldız said: ‘My voice is a little hoarse, but everything is fine.’
In another Instagram post, she added: ‘I almost didn’t make it to the table last night.’
After this terrifying experience, Shirley vowed to learn the Heimlich maneuver, which involves someone pressing on the abdomen to dislodge an object that might be stuck in the airways, in case she needed to use it in the future.
He said: ‘I’m going to study now in case I meet someone who needs my help.’
Fans told Shirley on Instagram: ‘Really glad to hear you’re okay’ and ‘How scary for you.’
The incident comes after Shirley said Strictly Come Dancing would ‘continue long after I’m gone’, despite concerns about her future following a series of scandals.
In another Instagram post she added: ‘I almost didn’t make it to the table last night.’
Shirley put on a brave face for the Strictly live show but admitted on social media that the ‘horrific’ incident made her want to take a First Aid course
Fans told Shirley on Instagram: ‘Really glad to hear you’re okay’ and ‘How scary for you.’
Shirley joined her fellow judges and welcomed Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to the dance floor for the Strictly special
It was revealed on Sunday that bosses were left in a ‘panic’ following news that a former star had been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman following the BBC incident.
The scandal is the latest to emerge from the BAFTA-winning show, just three months after another unnamed male star was arrested on suspicion of rape.
But Shirley revealed she has no concerns that Strictly will remain on screens for many years to come.
The dancer noted similar doubts around Strictly when she replaced Len Goodman as head judge in 2017, adding that “no one is bigger than the beloved show”.
Shirley said: ‘No one is bigger than Strictly Come Dancing. Not me, not the presenter, not the dancer; This show belongs to the people.
He continued to tell Sun on Sunday: ‘When I came on the show in 2017, no one knew me and they were like, “Oh, is it going to fail? Is this going to happen? Is this going to happen?”
‘It kept ticking and will keep ticking long after I’m gone and kicking my clogs.’
