Strictly Come Dancing judgeShirley Ballas fuelled rumours that she’d secretly quit the scandal hit BBC1 show when she announced she was joining her son Mark Ballas in the US on the judging panel for Dancing With The Stars. The move comes as Shirley reveals her desire to be a better granny to her two-year-old grandson Banksi Wylde Ballas than she was a mum to Mark, 39.

She says: “I want to be a much better grandmother than I was a mother, as I was pursuing my career. I wish I could go back now, as I was only 25 when Mark arrived. It was a lovely surprise and we were trying to make it in the industry. I do regret it - I wish back then I spent more time.”

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Shirley, 65, joined Strictly in 2017 as head judge, replacing Len Goodman. Dubbed the ‘Queen of Latin,’ she is the only person to win the British Open to the World Latin American Championships with two different partners. Mark, her son by her ex-husband, dancer Corky Ballas, is also a professional dancer and lives in the US with his wife, singer-songwriter BC Jean.

Shirley continues: “I would love to dance with my son now and do the cha cha cha. I would like to do a full routine with him and see if he can keep up with his mum!” Speaking at a talk about her books, which include a crime novel Dance to the Death, Shirley tells how Mark was largely raised by his grandmother, Audrey Rich, so she could pursue her career.

She says: “She dedicated her life to him. That is where he gets his soft nature from. She has said if she died tomorrow those were the best years of her life. I was worried, as a parent, I was not there 24/7. It was quite difficult, and I relied on a lot of people. She [his grandmother] used to put him on a BA plane at five years old from Heathrow to Japan. He could communicate with everybody. He loves people.”

But while Shirley regrets not having more time for Mark when he was growing up, he has no such worries. She says: “I have told him I don't think I was there for him. He said, ‘I had a ball with my nan’. I used to have his teddy in my suitcase. It was very difficult for me.”

She also feels there were no guides to being a mum when she was younger and feels her daughter-in-law is a far better parent than she was. She says: “Back in the day there was no Google or social media, so having a baby then like I did with my son Mark I did not have a manual. Now you know all the sizes for everything and it is ‘don’t do this and don't do that’.”

She admires her daughter-in-law, BC Jean - best known for writing Beyonce’s If I Were A Boy - who is currently pregnant with the couple’s second child. She says: “I did not have those skills that my daughter in law has.

Obviously Mark and BC worked on If I Were A Boy for Beyonce. They have written a beautiful song about the rainbow baby and a new song called So Small. “

She hopes being exposed to so much music means both Banksi and the baby they are expecting will be able to dance. She says: “All the time the baby is in there they are singing to it. Maybe they will be a rock star. “

Another exciting prospect on the horizon for Shirley is a Broadway show that’s being written about her. And she has high expectations, saying: “There are 10 steps to get to Broadway and we are on step four or five.

It is in the works. I want Zendaya to play me. She is a fabulous actress and I don't know if my project will be big enough for her.”

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