Strictly's Shirley Ballas reveals true feelings on judging twist with just four words

Shirley Ballas has revealed how she truly feels about no longer having the casting vote on Strictly Come Dancing. Shirley has been the head judge since she joined the BBC programme in 2017, meaning she has always had the final say on who goes home if the judges can't come to a unanimous decision. However, this will no longer be the case. During Saturday night's first live show, it was announced that all four judges will have the power, with a different judge given the deciding vote each week.

Questioning what the 65-year-old makes of the major change, one fan wrote on X: "Wonder how Shirley felt about the head judge twist?" Responding to the post, Shirley admitted that she was more than happy with the change as she made a playful dig at her fellow judge Anton Du Beke. She wrote: "Got a call and I said 'Omg yes love it. I can't wait to see Anton send someone home'," followed by a crying emoji.

Shirley also showed she had welcomed the decision on Instagram, declaring: "This little change is going to be fun... get ready," before tagging her fellow judges Anton, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel-Horwood.

Fans learned about the change at the end of last night's show, when host Tess Daly declared: "For seven years, Shirley has been responsible for casting decision to choose the couple that will stay."

Shirley added: "Which hasn't always been easy, but that's about the change. It's about time that power was shared by a different judge each week."

Sharing their reactions online, one fan penned: "I fear that new head judge voting system is going to cause even more carnage every results show."

Another said: "Love this! Finally Shirley Bias doesn't have all the power!"

A third suggested: "I think Shirley must have been sick of getting all the flack for making the deciding votes. Think it's a subtle and interesting way of spicing the results show up a little!"

Last year, Shirley spoke candidly about the emotional difficulty of being the one responsible for sending contestants home.

She confessed: "I'm sitting there every weekend, thinking, 'Dear Lord, my saviour, please let the other three make the decision so it doesn't come down to me.'

"But somebody has to do this job, and I try to send them home with as much confidence and affection as I can."

The professional dancer added to Radio Times: "My heart does have a little cry when I see them go because I've got to know them and see them improving."