Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas is reportedly set to join the line-up of Bear Grylls’ upcoming Netflix show Bear Hunt after getting the all-clear following her cancer scare.
The professional dancer, 63, will join the likes of Spice Girl Mel B, 48, and retired rugby player Danny Cipriani, 36, on the action-packed programme.
Bear Hunt – who will appear alongside co-host Holly Willoughby – will show former SAS trooper Grylls hunting down the contestants and when he finds them they will be eliminated from the programme.
Filming is due to take place throughout May and the programme will be available for streaming early next year.
A source told the Daily Mirror: ‘Shirley is a fabulous choice, and is impressively fit thanks to years of ballroom dancing.
Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas is reportedly set to join the line-up of Bear Grylls’ upcoming Netflix show Bear Hunt after getting the all-clear following her cancer scare (Shirley pictured last month)
Bear Hunt will show former SAS trooper Grylls (pictured) hunting down the contestants and when he finds them they will be eliminated from the programme
‘She will be able to show off her strength and determination and show Strictly viewers a whole other side to her.’
MailOnline has contacted Netflix and a representative for Shirley for comment.
It comes after Shirley announced the results from her three biopsies last week have come back all clear.
She took to Instagram on Tuesday to share the health update after having further testing done on her breasts following a routine mammogram.
Shirley told her fans: ‘Thank you to you all for your well wishes following my two mammograms, one ultrasound and three biopsies last week.
‘I am feeling blessed to share that my results have come back all clear – there is no cancer present.’
Shirley, who had her breast implants removed in 2019 to make it easier for doctors to spot cancer, decided not to miss her mammogram after Strictly pro Amy Dowden, who is recovering from breast cancer.
She continued: ‘Sharing the picture to my story last week very much triggered my emotions but I feel it’s only right for me to share both the highs and the lows of life. If I was able to help just one lady, then sharing my picture was worth it.
Spice Girl Mel B is said to have signed up for the action show, with the singer having already jetted to Costa Rica for filming (Mel pictured last month)
Retired rugby player Danny Cipriani has reportedly negotiated a six-figure pay packet to appear on Bear Hunt (Danny pictured in September last year)
Filming is due to take place throughout May and the programme will be available for streaming early next year, with Bear and Holly Willoughby appearing as co-hosts
Shirley Ballas has announced the results from her three biopsies last week have come back all clear
The Strictly judge, 63, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share the health update after having further testing done on her breasts following a routine mammogram
‘I am feeling blessed to share that my results have come back all clear – there is no cancer present. X,’ she wrote
‘I got my recall while on holiday and I immediately cleared my diary to allow for the appointment. I urge all women to do the same.
‘Please do not put your mammogram, smear test or in fact any appointment off. They really can change your life. Who knows what may have happened if I put mine off? Get booked, get checked, get your body MOT everyone.
‘With immense gratitude to friends, family and fans who reached out. I appreciate you more than you know. Love and hugs, Shirley x’.
Shirley captioned the post: ‘Thank you to you all for your well wishes following my two mammograms, one ultrasound and three biopsies last week.
‘I am feeling blessed to share that my results have come back all clear – there is no cancer present. X’.
Amy commented: ‘So pleased for you. Have been worried! Well done for getting the message out there and raising awareness lots of love xxxxx’.
Shirley was shocked when the routine test revealed she had lumpy tissue in her left breast.
Concerned putting too much pressure on herself may have driven her to ill health, Shirley told The Sun: ‘I’m worried I’ve worked myself to death.
Shirley Ballas says she is living in fear following a recent cancer scare after she went for her routine mammogram
‘It’s been terrifying, to have the needle go in your body to numb it before the biopsy.’
Shirley added she worries every time someone calls her in case they are delivering bad news.
Shirley explained: ‘I feel very emotional. I’m not the same at work at the moment, so I’m teaching, but it’s constantly on my mind.
‘Every time the phone rings, I think, “Oh, maybe they are my results”.’
After Amy warned Shirley not to miss her mammogram, the Strictly panelist went to a mobile NHS unit in a Sainsbury’s supermarket car park before she was called into King’s College Hospital in London three days later.
The doctor told her they had found a lump in her breast and they needed to do a 3D mammogram for which they needed to use a more advanced machine than the one in the mobile unit.
She asked for it to be done straight away as she did not want to have to wait and worry in the meantime.
Sharing picture which showed the bandage after her biopsy Shirley wrote on Instagram this week: ‘Urging all women do not miss your mammogram.
Sharing picture which showed the bandage after her biopsy Shirley wrote on Instagram this week: ‘Urging all women do not miss your mammogram’
Replying to Shirley’s mention, Amy gushed: ‘Always here for you! Important message here all from @shirleyballas’
Shirley stressed the importance of not missing a mammogram as she credited Amy Dowden, who is recovering from breast cancer, for reminding her of the importance to get tested
‘I went for mine, ended up going for a second one and a biopsy. Local anaesthetic biopsy done. Now waiting for results.’
Shirley also gave a mention to Amy after she was diagnosed with grade III breast cancer in May 2023.
She added: ‘Amy Dowden you ran through my mind. The importance of not putting it off. Go and get tested. Plus self breast check regularly.’
Replying to Shirley’s mention, Amy gushed: ‘Always here for you! Important message here all from @shirleyballas.’
Shirley had her breast implants removed following a cancer scare in 2019.
She revealed in September that year she would be having the operation to reduce her risks of developing the disease after discovering a history of cancer in her family.
Shirley had her breast implants removed following a cancer scare in 2019 (pictured on Strictly Come Dancing
Shirley revealed to The Sunday Times before the procedure that she suffered a cancer scare as well as learning that there was a history of the disease in her family when she shot an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? in 2018.
The two eventualities led Shirley to consider taking all the precautions she could to stop cancer ever affecting her life, including the removal of her implants.
After learning that having implants can block signs of breast cancer from being detected, Shirley also revealed she was considering having the scar tissue around her implants removed as well, to be extra careful.
When she first explained her potential plans to The Sunday Times, she said: ‘I’ve had a breast augmentation. It makes me step back and think when you go for these mammograms, “Can you see at the back? Is it clear what you can see?”
‘It’s making me sit back and think, “Shall I remove them? Would it be a good safety precaution for me?”‘
Shirley learnt on Who Do You Think You Are? – the BBC series that delves into the family trees of celebrities, featuring the likes of Mary Berry, Mark Wright, Patsy Kensit and Danny Dyer – that her great-grandfather died from cancer.
She also recently nursed her mother, 82, back to health following a colon cancer diagnosis, for which she underwent treatment.
Shirley took to Instagram last summer to open up about the time she had a breast cancer scare herself.
Alongside a picture of a breast cancer awareness poster, she typed: ‘I had a routine check at the doctors and she was not happy with what she felt and saw in my breast and immediately sent me to Clatterbridge Hospital for a mammogram and ultrasound.
‘We go about our daily lives always busy and sometimes ignoring our body.
‘If something changes externally or you have any discomfort at all it’s your body telling you “take care of me”.
‘DON’T PUT IT OFF. Early detection is key to getting better.
‘I have cancer in my family line so I will be being vigilant.
‘To all the beautiful women out there young and old get checked regularly. We have one beautiful body we need to keep it well taken care of. Thank you again to the NHS for being so marvelous.’
