STRICTLY head judge Shirley Ballas has hit back at a troll who called her “mutton dressed as lamb”.
It’s been a tough start to the new season for Shirley, who has come under fire for her scoring and voting.
However, she’s remaining upbeat and refusing to stoop to the level of those insulting her.
One fan compared her glam purple dress on Saturday night’s show to Nanny Plum from children’s TV show Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom.
It prompted another to snipe: “She is such a false, and fake person. Mutton dressed as lamb thinks she’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
Shirley gave a measured response, writing: “Sorry you feel like this. Love that expression mutton dressed as lamb is very northern. Anyway, Lovely Sunday you made me smile.”
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And when another troll said “I’d vote to have you replaced,” Shirley responded: “Ok. But enjoy the show and have a wonderful week.”
The dancer fought back tears on last week’s Loose Women when discussing the backlash to the Week 3 dance-off.
Fans went into meltdown when Shirley backed eliminated Richie Anderson for survival instead of Fleur East following a one-sided dance-off.
But defiant Shirley said: “I appreciate the audience have been watching it for 20 years but sometimes… what I want to get across is when you watch a TV screen, you only see half of what I see.
“I love that they have an opinion, it’s when it starts to get overboard and nasty.”
Shirley has developed a thick skin during her decades in the demanding world of dance.
She continued: “It’s a tough industry and has been a tough industry my whole life, so Saturdays… oh I’m getting emotional already… and Saturdays are like going to Disneyland, it’s the ultimate job, I really enjoy it.
“I do read everything… it’s really hurtful. Some of the language is so explicit I couldn’t even retweet them.”
Then explaining why she favoured Richie’s routine to Fleur, she said: “I chose Richie because it’s very difficult to dance a samba, his footwork was beautiful.
“I loved Fleur, she had this beautiful frame and it was soft and elegant but in the end I went with the footwork and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
