Shirley Ballas was hurt by Craig Revel Horwood's comments about her boobs

Shirley Ballas says Craig Revel Horwood\'s comments about her breasts were "very, very painful".

The \'Strictly Come Dancing\' judge - who has since made up with her co-star - has opened up on how she felt when he commented on her body during a book tour in 2018.

According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, Shirley reflects on the controversial moment in her new autobiography \'Behind The Sequins\', writing: "It was awful and very, very painful.

"It brought up a lot of things from my past that I thought I\'d dealt with...

"Once again, I was propelled back to my toughest days with [ex-husband] Corky, when he would make comments about my appearance: My crooked teeth, my nose, my a*** that was too big.

"All those insults just came flying back as I read what Craig had said, apparently in jest."

Shirley - who said Craig apologised profusely - told him "exactly" how she felt after the incident as they cleared the air.

In the book, she says she told him: "I\'m your colleague. I should feel safe around you. You should feel like a protector to me and I should to you.

"If I have to worry every time you go out that you\'re going to talk about me, that doesn\'t make me feel good about being on this show."

Craig had gone on a rant about Shirley during his book tour two years ago, where he claimed that her "fake boobs" were "hanging out" during her \'Strictly\' audition.

She responded at the time: "I don\'t think it\'s appropriate for anyone to make comments about anyone else - be it about their body or anything they do - when working as a team.

"I\'m a team player and I have the backs of my fellow people. Yes, I got an apology - a sincere apology.

"I don\'t need anybody to make me feel bad about myself. I can do that to myself. To each his own. I don\'t think you need to sell anything off the back of making anybody else look small. I don\'t think joking about somebody else\'s body is funny."