Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell has hinted at her plans to leave the show and start a family with her partner, YouTuber and fellow finalist Joe Sugg.
The dancer, 36, won the latest series of the BBC competition alongside comedian Chris McCausland, who was also Strictly’s first blind contestant.
Buswell met Sugg in 2018, when they were partnered together for the 16th series of the programme. The duo made it to the finals and finished as runners-up behind winners Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton.
Having been together for nearly seven years, Buswell has now suggested she and Suggs are ready to have children – adding that she wouldn’t mind missing out on Strictly to do so.
“We’ve always wanted kids, it’s just finding the right time,” Buswell told Prima magazine.
“I don’t feel worried about taking time out from dancing, I just don’t see the point in worrying. When everything aligns, it will happen. I have to have that vision. I like to practise manifestation, I’m quite spiritual.”
Speaking about meeting Sugg on Strictly, she said: “When Joe and I met, it wasn’t until the show ended that we realised we missed each other’s company a lot – our relationship went from there.
“We always got on, he was so funny to me, and I loved how creative he was.”
Buswell will appear on the next series of the programme this autumn, along with fellow dancers, Nadiya Bychkova, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, and Jowita Przysta.
They will be joined by two new professionals, Alexis Warr, former winner of the US series So You Think You Can Dance, and Julian Caillon, a ballroom TV star from Australia. Their casting follows the exits of Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, and marks a new chapter for Strictly, which has been plagued by scandal in recent times.
“I feel just as excited as any other year, and I’ve put no expectations on myself,” said Buswell of returning to the dance floor as reigning champion. “Last year taught me that it’s not about perfection.
“I’ll be honest, I used to think of winning, winning, winning, but the past few years, it hasn’t been about that at all – maybe that comes with age and maturity. It doesn’t feel like a competition anymore.”
