Dianne Buswell has announced she is expecting her first child and, pending medical advice and production approval, will become the first professional dancer to compete on Strictly Come Dancing while pregnant.
The 36-year-old and her partner, YouTuber Joe Sugg, 33, revealed the news in an Instagram video posted on Sunday, sharing that they are expecting a son due in 2026. The clip, set to Elton John’s "Tiny Dancer," showed the couple pretending to paint on an easel before unveiling a canvas depicting two stick figures — one with Buswell’s distinctive red hair — and a baby.
Colleagues and friends flooded the post with congratulatory messages. Fellow Strictly professionals included Vito Coppola, who wrote that he could not wait to meet "the first Strictly baby," Johannes Radebe offered his congratulations, and Amy Dowden — a close friend — described herself as a "magical auntie." Former contestant Stacey Dooley and this year’s celebrity contestants also sent messages of support.
Buswell and Sugg met when they were paired on the show’s sixteenth series in 2018 and have been a public couple since. Buswell has spoken in recent months about wanting children, telling media outlets in May that she and Sugg had long hoped to start a family but had delayed plans amid the demands of her performing career. In a separate interview in July she said she believed having children would happen at the right time.
Buswell is a former Strictly champion and won last year’s Glitterball Trophy with comedian Chris McCausland. She and McCausland also shared a TV BAFTA in May after their routine — a waltz performed as a "blackout" to reflect his visual impairment — won Best TV Moment.
If Buswell competes while pregnant it would mark a first for the BBC ballroom series. In 2014, professional dancer Erin Boag left Strictly when she discovered she was pregnant, and at the time cited the pregnancy as the reason for her absence from that year’s series.
The announcement comes one week before Strictly Come Dancing returns for its latest series, which is scheduled to run up until the week before Christmas. The BBC has not issued a detailed statement regarding any specific accommodations or guidance that would apply to a pregnant professional competing on the programme.
Buswell and Sugg did not provide a precise due date beyond the year 2026 in their post. The couple’s announcement follows months of public hints from Buswell about family plans and was celebrated across the Strictly community and by fans on social media.