Overview
- Shirley Ballas says a fishbone lodged in her throat backstage at Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom just before the live broadcast.
- She recounted being unable to breathe for about 20 minutes and described the experience as terrifying in Instagram videos.
- Makeup artist and hairstylist Jane Burstow performed the Heimlich manoeuvre, dislodging the bone and averting a judge’s absence.
- Ballas took part in the show and later told fans she was hoarse but fine, posting that she had “almost didn’t make it to the desk.”
- She pledged to learn the Heimlich manoeuvre, and coverage of the incident is drawn from her social-media updates rather than official statements.