Strictly DANCER DIANNE BUSWELL TALKS TO OK!
‘STRICTLY COME DANCING’ STAR DIANNE BUSWELL TELLS ok! ABOUT BODY CONFIDENCE, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING UNIQUE AND LIFE WITH JOE SUGG
Refreshed after her recent holiday to the Greek island of Mykonos with her boyfriend Joe Sugg, Dianne Buswell is raring to get back to work. The new series of Strictly Come Dancing is just around the corner and the 30-year-old Australian tells us: ‘I’m so, so excited. It’s the best. I can’t wait.’
She met Joe, who’ll be watching from the audience, in the last series when they were paired up on the show. And since making their relationship official after the series finale, their romance has continued to go from strength to strength.
Next year, the loved-up pair, who’ve defied the Strictly curse so far, are going on the road with their tour The Joe & Dianne Show.
Here, Dianne tells OK! why she and Joe are the perfect match, what she thinks of Strictly’s new judge and why she loves her unique look...
Your recent trip to Mykonos with Joe looked amazing.
Was it romantic? Oh it’s always romantic with Joe. He’s a very romantic person, so anything we do is romantic. It was a beautiful getaway that we enjoyed together.
You always seem to be having so much fun in your Instagram posts – is there a more serious side to the two of you? We do have a lot of fun. From the minute we get up to the minute we go to bed again, he makes me laugh consistently because he’s so funny. But we do have serious conversations. We get into this creative mindset and chat about what adventures we want to go on next. Our brains tick over all the time and we jot down our funny little ideas in little books that we carry.
Is it true that you’ve moved in together? No, we’re not actually living together at this stage. It’s still early days. But who knows what the future holds.
You’ve spoken about feeling happy to post realistic images of yourself on social media. Have you always been body confident?
No, I used to struggle with it a lot, trying to be that perfect dancer, looking thin. It wasn’t until my late twenties that I felt fine. You’d think that being in front of millions of people on Strictly each week would bring the insecurities back but I’ve learnt to love every part of my body and the way I look. Your imperfections are a part of you. I’m so much happier now. Love yourself from the inside and it radiates from you.
What made you change your mindset about your body?
I’m more of a quirky character, which doesn’t fit with the usual look of a dancer. But people were hiring me because of my differences. The more quirky I was, the more my confidence came out. I realised it doesn’t matter what I look like, that’s who I am and I’m proud of it; being unique is so much better than being like everyone else.
What do you think about Motsi Mabuse being the new Strictly judge?
I’m so excited. I remember watching her dance in a massive world championship in Australia when I was younger and going: ‘Oh my God, Mum, she is incredible!’ She knows exactly what she’s talking about and she’s an amazing dancer. She’s going to be a great judge.
It was claimed that some of the professional dancers are annoyed by her appointment as a judge. Is that true? I haven’t heard of any of the professionals being annoyed about the fact it’s Oti’s sister, and I couldn’t imagine anyone being annoyed. We’re all really professional so we all think it’s going to be fine. I don’t think she’ll show any bias to Oti. She’s going to be really great for the show.
How excited are you about The Joe & Dianne Show?
We’re so excited. This will be the first time that Joe and I have been able to dance together on stage since Strictly ended. I know Joe’s thrilled to pieces about that. There will be dancing, acting and a lot of humour.
Why did you want to get involved in the Dove campaign? Apparently 86 per cent of women have felt selfconscious about their underarms. It’s stopped them from exercising and made them change their outfits so their underarms are covered. I’m really happy to be one of those role models saying there’s no such thing as perfect, and that includes a perfect underarm!
Would you ever grow your underarm hair? It’s become a habit for me to shave my underarms but if I do forget to shave, even if I’m about to perform on Strictly, I’m absolutely fine with that. I’m never bothered by what anyone thinks. We never bat an eyelid if it’s a guy with hair in their armpits!
DIANNE IS SUPPORTING THE #ARMSUP CAMPAIGN FOR DOVE’S LIMITED EDITION #ARMSUP ANTIPERSPIRANT SPRAY, WHICH IS AVAILABLE IN SUPERDRUG.