Strictly's Dianne Buswell shares sweet pregnancy update ahead of live show

Strictly Come Dancingstar Dianne Buswell has given fans a behind-the-scenes update ahead of her highly anticipated first live dance of the new series — and it came with a heartwarming nod to her pregnancy.

The 35-year-old professional dancer, who announced earlier this month that she and boyfriend Joe Sugg are expecting their first child,took a break from rehearsals to chat to her celebrity partner, Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis. The pair filmed a short video from the Strictly dance floor before Saturday night’s live shows, where nerves and excitement were clearly running high.

Looking radiant in her rehearsal gear, Dianne shared how the duo had been preparing for their debut. She revealed: “We have done our run. We have both had physio and acupuncture for the second time. We have had some lunch. He had the chicken and I had the tofu.”

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It seems the couple are already getting into a healthy routine ahead of their big moment,with the Australian pro dancer balancing rehearsals alongside self-care during her pregnancy. Dianne, who has been praised by fans for her “glowing” appearances since revealing her baby bump, explained that the rehearsal room was buzzing with energy as the couples perfected their routines.

Stefan, best known for playing Ramsay Street villain Paul Robinson on Neighbours, added: “We have chatted with a lot of people and we watched their amazing dances.”

Dianne continued: “We sat and chatted and we watched a lot of the other routines and it was amazing. Everyone is looking fabulous and you did your dance too, how do you think you did?”

The 65-year-old actor responded modestly: “I did okay.” But ever the supportive partner, Dianne quickly reassured him: “You did great.”

Fans of the duo will see them perform live for the first time tonight, with many already rallying behind the unlikely pairing. Strictly bosses have paired Dianne with soap veteran Stefan in what could be one of the most surprising — and entertaining — partnerships of the series.

Stefan, who has three kids of his own with wife of 25 years Gail, says he’s thrilled for his new best mate, and will do everything in his power to help ensure it all goes smoothly for her.

“Bless her, she's the usual, she's radiant and lovely,” he declares about the reigning champ, who lifted the glitterball trophy last year with partner Chris McCausland. “She’s just a lovely person. You can't help but like her. And now on top of this, she's having a baby and it's brilliant.”

Stefan, who is this year’s oldest contestant at 66, says it’s entirely up to Dianne to decide what she is comfortable with in terms of the routines and training schedule. “She’s not silly when it comes to her body and what she can do and what she can't do,” he reasons. And she's also got massive medical support from the BBC. Her welfare and the baby's welfare are obviously paramount - that’s the top thing. But she's very confident that she's going to be able to do this and I trust her confidence."

He says that one of the show’s welfare producers came to gently break the news to him in his dressing room. “She said, ‘Oh, Stef, we've got some news.’ And I went, ‘Oh, my God - have I been voted out already? It hasn't even started.’”

So when they told him the happy news he was actually relieved. “Knowing Dianne the way I know her now, I think she's going to be a brilliant parent. I think that baby is going to be very, very fortunate.”

Dianne, 36, met her partner Joe Sugg while partnered with him on the show back in 2018 (they made it to the final), so their first child really does feel like a Strictly baby.

“It's like a fairy story, isn't it?” Stefan marvels. Of course it would be perfectly understandable for him to feel nervous of his partner being a mum-to-be given that he’s a total amateu, but he says they’ll just adapt as they go along.

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