Shirley Ballas gets choked after discussing charity skydive dedicated to late brother

Shirley Ballas had an emotional moment after talking about her latest challenge dedicated to her late brother.

The Strictly Come Dancing head judge, 62, will do a Skyathlon challenge – a zipline, a 700ft wing walk and 15,000ft skydive throughout the week.

The Rumba queen explained that even though she was scared of heights, she was ‘more terrified at the thought of losing another person to suicide’.

Shirley lost her beloved brother David back in 2003, when he took his own life aged 44.

During Monday’s BBC Breakfast, she said: ‘I would not want anyone out there to experience what my mother and I have experienced through losing someone to suicide.

‘I just want to do something that’s way out of the comfort zone. I didn’t want to bake a cake or cut grass. So I thought what could I do that people are going to look at and say “she’s totally bonkers” but they understand the cause which I’m doing it.’

The Strictly Come Dancing judge has taken on a challenge to support Calm (Picture: BBC)

Her brother David took his own life, aged, 44, in 2003 (Picture: PA)

She tearfully continued: ‘I’m doing it for everybody out there who’s got somebody living miserably or somebody that has taken their own life… I’m getting all emotional. I’m doing this for all of you.’

In the two decades since David died, Shirley said conversations around mental health had progressed, but that there was still a long way to go.

‘Definitely [it’s improved] from 20 years ago, but it’s not as far as it should be,’ she said.

‘I think it’s getting there, but it’s still something that should involve weekly chats.’

Pointing to the amount of shows available to tune into at the touch of our fingertips to entertain, inform and educate us, Shirley added she would love to see some sort of regular programme that encouraged people to check in on, and speak to others about, mental health.

‘Even if we had something on TV that was five or 10 minutes that was checking in on people’s mental health, we may also be able to [keep on] saying things [about our mental wellbeing],’ she considered.

BBC Breakfast airs weekdays at 6am on BBC One.

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Shirley’s brother died in 2003.