Shirley Ballas ‘risks BBC wrath’ after hosting Strictly-style show on cruise

Shirley Ballas has reportedly risked incurring the wrath of BBC bosses after an appearance on a Strictly Come Dancing-themed cruise trip.

It has been claimed that the 65-year-old head judge was paid over £10,000 to host the seven-day voyage from Southampton to Norway.

During the Virtuosa trip, which is run by MSC Cruises, elements of the Strictly live shows are said to have been so faithfully recreated that passengers felt they could have been watching an instalment of the BBC show.

The cruise, which priced packages from £599 per person, reportedly advertised that Ballas would be ‘bringing Strictly glamour’ to the luxury liner, which set off on the high seas earlier this month.

During the voyage, Ballas was introduced while the Strictly theme tune played, which the Daily Mail has claimed was not approved or licensed by the BBC.

Ballas also presided over a dance competition and scored contestants with paddles, much like she does for her job on the BBC show. She was also said to have worn a diamante suit which was made for Strictly. 

One passenger told the publication: ‘It was like watching an episode of Strictly, there were so many similarities.’

The dance legend reportedly delivered critiques on footwork and timing, while other activities on offer to passengers included a dance masterclass, which was described as a replication of the rehearsals in the lead-up to the Strictly live shows.

Ballas’s appearance duties on the cruise are also said to have included a storytelling Q+A with behind-the-scenes tidbits from Strictly and a meet-and-greet.

In the cruise marketing materials, the voyage was billed as a ‘Strictly-style holiday’ and promised to deliver Ballas’s ‘energy, style and sparkle’ at sea.

However, the appearance might have been in breach of the BBC’s strict editorial guidelines, which state that promotional work involving licence fee-funded talent must not ‘imitate, suggest a reference or connection to or pass off BBC content’.

This includes ‘replicating any editorial elements of a programme’ and must not ‘suggest BBC endorsement’. 

Such rules landed DIY SOS star Nick Knowles in hot water in 2021, when he appeared in a Shreddies advert dressed as a builder. This was deemed by the BBC to have been a breach of contract. 

License fee-funded talent must also declare any commercial interests which are connected with programmes that they present.

A BBC spokesperson told Metro: ‘We have clear guidelines around an individual’s commercial activities while working with the BBC, and they are regularly reminded of these guidelines.’

Ballas is set to return this autumn as head judge, despite causing fears among fans that she might be exiting amid a new spin-off show she is judging with her son Mark for Dancing on Ice.

Metro contacted Shirley Ballas’s representative for comment on this story.

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