Who is Shirley Ballas’ ex-boyfriend Danny Taylor and how long has he been with the Strictly judge?

SHIRLEY Ballas is one of the 12 celebrities set to take on Bear Grylls and a plethora of challenges in the Celebrity Bear Hunt series. While the Strictly Come Dancing judge prepares to take part in the Netflix reality show which airs on Wednesday February 5, 2025, her former flame Danny Taylor has been spotted with a mystery woman. Danny Taylor is an actor, known mainly for his theatre roles in the West End.

He's had an extensive career both on stage and screen and is one of the country’s most successful theatre actors. Like his ex-partner Shirley Ballas, he’s a trained dancer in ballroom, tap and waltz and even released an album in 2015 called The Party Is Over. He's also had parts in TV series including The Bill and Brookside. Danny met Shirley long before she signed up to the challenge of Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt.

The pair met during rehearsals for Jack and the Beanstalk, which they both starred in during 2018. They kept their relationship quiet, until The Sun exclusively revealed that they were dating in 2019. News of her new romance came just a week after she had told TV host Lorraine Kelly that she'd met "somebody nice.". Shirley discussed how they first met on Loose Women: "We met on panto as friends. "It didn’t really take off until March… for him.

"I fell in love way before... I think for me it was first sight.". She added: “He was going through a difficult time in his relationship. "We did become friends and then probably in about February I said, ‘I love you Danny’ and he said, ‘I know’. "It took a while.”. The head judge of Strictly made headlines when she called off her engagement with Danny Taylor. The couple have been together since 2018 and have been engaged since 2021 before changing her mind.

Rumours of a shock split swirled after the couple terminated their engagement plans in 2024. Shirley gave a blunt rebuttal to the rumours, saying: "Danny and I are still together". She also said that, although she had already been married twice, Shirley had "changed her mind" about marriage. By November 2024 the rumours rung true and the pair made their breakup official. A source told The Sun that distance played a part in the end of Shirley's relationship, describing it as 'a very sad situation'.

"She gave her all to that relationship and in the end came to the realisation that it wasn't going anywhere. She made a lot of effort to see Danny and support his theatre and panto work, travelling up and down the country. "Distance also played its part - Shirley lives in London with her mother and Danny remains based in Liverpool; that commute is a killer. "But Shirley is a strong, resilient character and is looking better than ever. She will 100% bounce back - 2025 promises to be an absolute corker for her.".

The couple remain friends and still follow one another on social media. A year after the star couple split, Danny was seen attending the funeral of actress, Linda Nolan on February 1, 2025 with a mystery woman. Danny was pictured looking sombre as he arrived with a glamorous red head who offered him emotional support. The pair kept a low profile as they arrived at the service, before Linda’s glittery pink coffin was brought in by pallbearers at St Paul’s Church in Blackpool.

Looping arms, Danny and his mystery woman leaned on each other for support before entering the church. While Danny wore a suit, the woman he was with wore a chic black coat with fur-trimmed collar. Despite the pair not making an official announcement, rumours suggest Shirley's former fiancé may have found himself a new partner. Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.