Shirley Ballas, the ballroom dancing Queen of Latin, appears on our Zoom call in rollers as big as Coke cans, make-up free, and holding a mug of… what? ‘Black coffee – and three gins!’
It’s 8am in Los Angeles and she is bright and beaming as she explains she is staying with her son, Mark Ballas – ‘my snuggle bunny, even if he is 36!’ – whom she hasn’t seen since before Covid. She’s taking a break in the weeks