Shirley Ballas suffered bleak Christmases with her father.
Shirley Ballas
The 'Strictly Come Dancing' judge didn't receive presents from her dad at Christmas, and he once promised his children their gifts were in the post but they didn't show up. Writing in her book, 'Behind the Sequins', she said: "On one occasion he did turn up, my father gave us each a pound, and then the next day he took it back before he left. He used to tell us other times, 'Your Christmas present is in the mail,' but it never arrived."
Shirley was two years old when her dad, George Rich, walked out on his family and left his wife Aubrey to care for Shirley and her older brother, David.
However, the 60-year-old dancer has always had a difficult relationship with her father as he could be "downright nasty".
She added: "He was an irresponsible, selfish person. In fact, he could be downright nasty."
Shirley recently revealed the unhealthy lengths she went to in order to look good next to former 'Strictly' judge Darcey Bussell, admitting she was "almost not eating" before the BBC show.
She said: "To get super thin as I did in 2017 on 'Strictly', and drop down to a size six, it was hard work ... I was almost not eating. I cannot and will not do that to myself again."
The show judge admitted to feeling intimidated by the prospect of being compared to the "tall" and "beautiful" Darcey.
She said: "I was going on [TV] with this most beautiful woman who I had admired, and she seemed [in my mind] everything I wasn't. "So I took those extra steps to make sure the dress was hanging right and the make up was right and the hair was right."