Shirley Ballas leaves Motsi Mabuse floored as she surprises her with kiss

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas left viewers stunned after she planted a kiss on fellow judge Motsi Mabuse during the first live show of this year's series.

The TV veteran, 63, was in the process of giving feedback to Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova about their tango performance when she decided to demonstrate her point with an impromptu display.

"It's all in the posture." Ballas advised before inviting Mabuse to join her for a tango stance demonstration behind the judges' desk. As the audience watched, Anton Du Beke could hardly contain his excitement, encouraging the pair with a spirited "go on girls".

However, what happened next took everyone by surprise - Shirley Ballas gave Mabuse a quick peck on the lips, causing the former Strictly pro dancer to look visibly shocked. The unexpected on-air moment sparked immediate reactions from Strictly fans online, who quickly took to social media.

One Twitter user joked: "Motsi and Shirley kissing live on Strictly to give us the same sex representation we're missing this series lmao.", reports the Mirror.

This comes after Motsi recently expressed her feelings of missing professional dancer Oti Mabuse during her appearance on Loose Women. Several familiar professionals are not returning this year, including her sister Oti who left Strictly in 2022, and while on the ITV chat show, Motsi opened up about how their bond remains strong.

Reflecting on her past experiences, she reminisced: "I do miss her because there's that silent connection when your sister is there. When she walked past or when she was sitting across."

She elaborated on how her sister Oti's presence used to be a source of comfort for her as she was settling into the UK from Germany, saying, "You have to imagine I came from Germany to a whole close-knit family and I'm the new one, so just seeing her I felt like, 'Ok, everything is going to be ok.'"

Motsi then opened up about staying connected despite their hectic lives, mentioning to the panel, "We're very connected, I would say it doesn't matter which social media or telephone or whatever, we are on the phone with each other day and night! ".