Dianne Buswell has been supported by Strictly Come Dancing fans after she was forced to debunk false claims about her health.
The ballroom dancer, who is pregnant, spoke out earlier this week after her celebrity dance partner Stefan Dennis had fallen ill – but some viewers suspected that it was Buswell who had been unwell. She is the first professional dancer to compete on the show while pregnant.
The pair made a raucous comeback to the programme on Saturday night after Dennis was forced to sit out the competition last week due to illness, performing a Charleston to “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I. Although it was Dennis who was unwell, Buswell has been forced to deny speculative claims about her own health that had surfaced online during their absence.
During Saturday night’s routine, Buswell carwheeled, jumped and slid across the floor, which fans dubbed as a message “to all the haters”.
One fan wrote on X/Twitter: “‘Dianne is pregnant, she should sit this year out’... meanwhile she's jumping, flipping, sliding and crawling across the floor. Good for her!”
Another fan said: “This routine is a giant f*** you from Dianne to everyone who thinks she can’t dance while pregnant, cartwheel, wheelbarrow walking, forward roll, she’s insane.”
“I’m actually in awe at how much Dianne can do,” said another fan. “I never doubted she couldn’t, but my gosh.”
The couple did not compete in last week’s show after Dennis experienced a bout of vertigo and was advised to rest by his doctors.
Speaking about his illness during an appearance on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two, Dennis said: “I had a little bit of a turn. I had an episode of vertigo.”
“It was all OK,” the Australian actor added. “I got myself right again thanks to the help of people at the hospital.” As per Strictly rules, the couple were automatically granted a transfer to next week’s episode.
Earlier this week, Buswell wrote in an Instagram post: “Just to clarify I’ve had lots of people messaging me thinking this is a cover up for me not being able to dance?!”
“Firstly, we wouldn’t lie, especially about someone being sick. And secondly, I am fine. Yes I am pregnant, but I’m also very capable and feeling good!”
She continued: “Thirdly, there are things in place if any pros were to get sick or injured.”
Buswell, who won last year’s Strictly with comedian Chris McCausland, announced in September that she was expecting her first child with her boyfriend Joe Sugg, the YouTube star she met while partnered together on the BBC dancing show in 2018.
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