Strictly’s Oti in line to waltz onto BGT in place of shamed David Walliams
OTI Mabusi is being considered as a replacement for David Walliams on Britain’s Got Talent after his pilloried remarks about two contestants.
Bosses of the reality show have discussed how Oti – a former professional dancer on BBC’s Strictly – would be perfect for the role.
She is currently at the centre of a tug of war between ITV and the BBC, who both want the popular performer in their shows.
An insider told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Oti’s name is in the frame.
‘She is being touted as the perfect replacement for Walliams if ITV decide not to take him back.
‘There are multiple conversations taking place as negotiations are taking place but Oti is a clear route many involved in BGT want to take.
‘They think she would be perfect.’
Oti, 32, made her debut as a television judge on another of Simon Cowell’s programmes, The Greatest Dancer, in 2018 and he grew very fond of her.
After she quit Strictly last year, the South African dancer was poached by ITV to be on the judging panel of their skating competition, Dancing On Ice. They also made her the presenter of her own dating show, Romeo And Duet.
But the BBC then took her back for a new quiz show, The Tower, which she has recently filmed for the broadcaster.
Walliams’s future on BGT is still in doubt after he described an elderly contestant as a c*** and made sexual remarks about a female competitor.
The comments, made in 2020 during auditions at the London Palladium, were recorded on the show’s microphones and revealed earlier this month.
They left both production company Thames and ITV unsure about his return.
During the audition, an older performer engaged in banter with the judges in which he made a jibe about Walliams.
Afterwards, the pensioner left, and Walliams is said to have called him a ‘c***’ three times.
In another instance, after a female contestant auditioning on the same show had walked off stage, Walliams remarked: ‘She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t… It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like, “Yep, I bet you do!”’