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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Entertainment
Maisie Lillywhite

Dancing on Ice: Who is Oti Mabuse? The Latin American dance queen who broke a Strictly Come Dancing record

Dancing on Ice will be returning to our screens this Sunday (January 16), as a glitzy line up of celebrities pair up with seasoned professional dancers and try to skate their way smoothly to the final.

But this year, the judges panel will look a little different than before.

On Sunday evening, skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean will be keeping a close eye on the figures and forms of the contestants alongside Diversity star Ashley Banjo.

Read more: Dancing on Ice star Bez has horror fall training for ITV show

Whilst the three judges return for the new season having judged previous editions of the show, they will be joined by a new, but equally talented, face.

Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse will be sitting alongside the rest of the judges for series 14, as she makes her debut appearance on Dancing on Ice as a judge.

Oti is replacing John Barrowman, who was axed from the show following claims of sexual misconduct.

But for those who don't follow Strictly, who is Oti?

Oti was a fan favourite during her time on Strictly (Ian West)

31-year-old Oti is a big name in the dancing world. Despite being best known as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing and a panellist on The Masked Dancer, the South Africa native is a Latin American dance champion.

Oti has won the South African Latin American Championship a staggering eight times. She originally studied at university to become a civil engineer, but then decided to pick up dancing as a career, and ended up moving to Germany to truly hone her skills as a dancer.

Her older sister, Motsi Mabuse, is also a professional ballroom dancer, and has appeared on Let's Dance, the German version of Strictly Come Dancing, and has been a judge on the English version. Oti has also appeared on the German show as a professional dancer and a judge.

Oti and partner Bill Bailey were crowned the winners of Strictly Come Dancing in 2020 (BBC)

The talented professional has won over viewers with her past appearances on dancing shows, and was the first professional dancer to win two series of Strictly Come Dancing in a row, doing so with Kelvin Fletcher of Emmerdale fame back in 2019 and comedian Bill Bailey in 2020.

However, given that she has now become a judge for Strictly's ITV rival, it is believed that she is unlikely to return to the show.

In an interview with The Telegraph in April 2021, she said that the upcoming series of Strictly was likely to be her last.

Aside from being an eight-time Latin American champion in South Africa, Oti has picked up plenty of other awards for her talents.

She was awarded third place in the World Cup Freestyle Latin in 2014, second place in the European Championship Latin 2014, and first place in German Championship PD Freestyle Latin.

Are you looking forward to watching Dancing on Ice this weekend? Let us know by logging in and dropping a comment below.

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