Shirley Ballas felt like she'd "won the lottery" by being able to work on 'Strictly Come Dancing' during the pandemic.
Shirley Ballas
The 60-year-old star - who was part of the judging panel for the recent series alongside Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse - admitted still being part of the BBC show was a massive relief.
Appearing on Friday's episode (22.01.21) of ITV's 'Good Morning Britain', she said: "I am the type of person where if I keep busy ... I am normally going from 6am in the morning until the evening and then suddenly in lockdown, you are looking for things to do because I am a rule follower.
"I don’t like to break the rules. Of course I was absolutely extremely grateful that the BBC got 'Strictly' on.
"I felt like I had won the lottery, so to speak, and I will never take another job for granted for sure."
Shirley admitted she had to make an effort to "stay busy" once the competition was over.
She added: "I never thought that my own industry, that all the dancing studios would close ... I was grateful for the people in the country that they were able to have 'Strictly'.
"I was grateful to have it, but then after it all stops and it all goes quiet again, you have to stay busy.
"I am a list maker … and you must stay active in your mind. If you go to that lonely place, it can be quite daunting.”
While talking about Good Morning Britain's One Million Minutes campaign to battle loneliness, Shirley admitted being alone at times during the pandemic was "not such a great place to be". She explained: “I isolated for a majority [of the pandemic] on my own. I had my boyfriend here a little bit but my son, I haven’t seen him for a year and a half, I didn’t see my mother, like everybody else in the country.
"And I am not very good at being on my own because I am normally up and about and going and doing.
"The first part of the lockdown felt like a little bit of a holiday but then when it sets in and you suddenly find yourself quite alone, it’s not such a great place to be."
Tagged in Craig Revel Horwood