Pro dancer Dianne Buswell will compete on Strictly Come Dancing this season while pregnant, making her the first Strictly Come Dancing professional to perform on the show during pregnancy. Buswell, 36, and her YouTuber partner Joe Sugg, 33, announced last weekend that they are expecting a baby boy. The news comes as the new season returns to screens, with fans awaiting which celebrity Buswell will be paired with on Saturday night.
Buswell and Sugg met on Strictly in 2018, and the couple confirmed the pregnancy on Instagram, saying they are expecting a baby boy.
While Buswell’s pregnancy is a first for the show, Strictly Come Dancing has long been a fertile ground for couples who go on to start families after meeting on the program. The 2018 edition saw romance blossom for several contestants, including Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton, who later welcomed their daughter Minnie in 2023 after Dooley and Clifton won the Glitterball Trophy on the show.
Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez are another prominent couple who formed in the Strictly orbit; their family grew with Mia, who is now six, and a son Thiago born in 2023. The pair have spoken publicly about balancing a high-profile dance schedule with parenthood as their family expanded.
Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev began dating after being paired on the show in 2013 and married in Las Vegas in 2019 while Rachel was pregnant with their first daughter. Maven arrived in December 2019 and Noa followed in November 2021, cementing one of the more enduring Strictly romances.
Janette Manrara and Aljaz Škorjanec joined Strictly in 2013, marrying in 2017 and continuing to perform until Janette stepped down as a dancer in 2021 to pursue presenting on It Takes Two. The couple welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Lyra, and Aljaz later left Strictly in 2022 to concentrate on family life. Their balance of work and family life has been cited as a prime example of how couples navigate life on and off the show.
Ola and James Jordan’s 20-year love story produced daughter Ella in February 2020 after a lengthy battle with infertility and a pregnancy announced in 2019. The pair, long-time Strictly stalwarts, have discussed how fatherhood shifted their priorities and their perspective on touring and television commitments.
Former Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen welcomed daughter Milena after meeting on the show in 2013. The relationship drew attention for its age-defying spark and later engagement on a Maldivian trip in 2022, followed by a high-profile split earlier this year amid financial pressures. The pair remain focused on co-parenting Milena.
Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, another enduring Strictly pairing, have thrived as a family and as creative partners. They are parents to Valentina, 10, and Lucia Elizabeth, born in September 2020, and since leaving the show in 2009, have continued to work on spin-offs and international adaptations, with Lilia taking on judging roles elsewhere and Darren pursuing choreography.
The mix of high-profile romances and growing families underscores how Strictly Come Dancing has evolved beyond a competition, creating lasting personal connections and, for many, expanding families. Buswell’s pregnancy adds a contemporary chapter to a longtime trend of dancers starting families while maintaining demanding performance schedules, illustrating the show’s enduring appeal as both a televised competition and a social phenomenon.