Strictly judge Shirley Ballas responds after viewers notice 'alarming' lumps under her arm

Shirley Ballas
(Image credit: David Levenson)

Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas has shared her thanks with viewers after they drew attention to some "alarming" lumps they spotted under her arm.

Strictly Come Dancing star Shirley informed fans that she has since booked an appointment with her doctor after performing a check on herself and finding a "tiny node".

Taking to Instagram ahead of Saturday night's show, Shirley shared a video with her followers, reassuring them she is taking their concerns seriously.

"Hi everybody, last week and the week before I got some alarming messages from people saying that when I picked my arm up they could see lumps or bumps, or nodes or whatever," she said.

"So I just did some self checks and I couldn’t feel anything except a tiny little node at the back, but I’m going to go to the doctors on Tuesday."

A photo posted by on

She added: "To all women out there, please keep checking yourselves and to those people that were concerned enough to message me that they saw lumps and bumps, I’m very grateful."

Shirley concluded: "But females self-check at any age to just check we have no little bumps or lumps under our arms, or anywhere else for that matter. With gratitude, thank you."

The 61-year-old also thanked fans in her caption as she wrote: "So many messages over the last three weeks about suspected lump under my right arm. I have done a self check and will go to my Dr on Tuesday.

Strictly Shirley Ballas

"Thank you to those who reached out with their concerns. To all be vigilant and do self checks regularly. #selfcheck #nodes #breastcancerawareness #gratitude #thankyou."

Shirley has spoken in the past about her family history of cancer. In June, she found a lump in her shoulder but said her doctor "seems to think it will be fine".

In 2019, the Strictly star had her breast implants removed in order to reduce the risk of developing the disease, as implants can block early signs of it being detected.

Celebrity Writer

Roxy James is a freelance Celebrity Writer at GoodTo, covering all things royal, entertainment and reality TV. Be it the latest Royal Family happenings, behind-the-scenes gossip at Strictly Come Dancing or breaking engagement, divorce or baby news - Roxy has it covered.