Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell has been partnered with Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis on the 2025 series of the BBC show
John Bett and Jackie Annett
18:32, 04 Oct 2025
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
She might have carved out her place in history as the first professional dancer to take to the Strictly Come Dancing floor whilst expecting, but Dianne Buswell has encountered harsh backlash from certain viewers.
The professional ballroom performer has garnered tremendous backing after announcing her pregnancy during the 2025 series of Strictly, yet not everyone believes she ought to be participating.
Dianne has been confidently displaying her expanding bump since revealing she’s anticipating a baby boy with boyfriend Joe Sugg in 2026. She also confirmed her intention to continue with the contest alongside celebrity dancing partner, Neighbours star Stefan Dennis.
The duo have even dubbed themselves the “Australian dream team” following Dianne’s groundbreaking achievement as the programme’s first expectant participant.
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
However, not all viewers were pleased, with some heartlessly proposing she should withdraw from the show due to her condition. The 36 year old expectant mother provided an update via her Instagram Stories on Wednesday night, sharing one of numerous hostile messages she’d encountered, reports the Mirror.
The comment stated: “I don’t want to see her dance being pregnant, it’s already feeling uncomfortable and she’s only starting to show. It’s not appropriate.”
(Image: Instagram/ @diannebuswell)
Responding to the post, Dianne expressed her outrage: “I can’t believe in 2025 things like this are still being said.”
In her subsequent Instagram Story, the professional dancer shared a supportive comment from one of her followers, as reported by The Express.
The follower praised Dianne’s pregnant dancing as “nothing short of beautiful and magical”, adding that she is “inspirational and incredible,”. She re-shared the post with a few love heart emojis.
Earlier this month, the 36 year old Australian pro confirmed that she and YouTuber Joe Sugg are expecting their first child together. Since then, some fans have questioned whether she should continue performing some of the show’s more demanding lifts.
Joe and Dianne are expecting their first baby together(Image: JOE SUGG/INSTAGRAM)
During an interview on comedian Chris McCausland’s Winning Isn’t Everything podcast, Dianne clarified what her doctor had advised her after announcing her pregnancy.
She explained: “Because we did quite a lot of lifts that were quite high impact. Well, look, I’m still doing everything that I did before. Obviously, with lifts, there’s just going to be a bit more caution.
“But my doctor said that everything is normal. He said, basically, if you’ve done it before, like in terms of you’re a dancer, you’ve done lifts, you’ve done this, you’ve done that, then crack on and keep doing what you were doing.
“He said, because you’ve danced since you were five, literally, this is what your body’s meant to do. He said, you shouldn’t stop what you do. So obviously, with lifts, you just do it with caution.”
Strictly carries on this evening on BBC One from 6:20pm.
