BREAKING: Strictly’s Dianne Buswell hits boiling point as Motsi Mabuse comment sparks outrage

Motsi Mabuse telling Dianne Buswell and Stefan Dennis to rehearse more was the “final straw,” according to a body language expert. The Strictly Come Dancing judge sparked controversy after suggesting that the pregnant professional and her celebrity partner needed to dedicate extra practice time following their performance on Saturday night’s show.

Dianne and Stefan, 66, who is the oldest contestant this year, performed a Cha Cha to Give It Up by KC and The Sunshine Band, receiving just 17 points from the judging panel. While Motsi praised the pair’s partnership, she pointed out several minor errors in their routine.

When the audience erupted with boos, the 44-year-old said: “There were guys, sorry, let’s just be honest. Just let’s try next time to rehearse and stick to the routine.” Dianne, who is expecting her first child with Joe Sugg, quickly fired back: “I don’t know how much more we can rehearse, Motsi!”

However, Motsi only persisted: “Find a way, I don’t know, we have to get one performance without those tiny tiny creepers in there.”

Analysing Dianne’s body language during the interaction, Judi James noted that Motsi’s comment appeared to frustrate the 36-year-old, who responded with a strained smile and slumped posture, the Express reports.

Speaking exclusively to Paddy Power Games, the body language expert said: “Motsi’s comment ‘Try to rehearse’ looked like the last straw for Dianne, who performed an overkill smile that was more an angry baring of the teeth than an expression of pleasure, and collapsed from the waist in a gesture of exhaustion.

“When she straightened, she had one hand balled into a fist and placed on her hip in a gesture that can look aggressive or confrontational and there was a tongue-poke gesture to suggest she rejected the idea of not rehearsing. Dianne is a grafter and the comment appeared wounding.”

The expert, continued: “It was Dianne’s body language during the results that suggested she was the one most expecting to be voted out this week. Her eye gaze was aimed in a reflective direction, and her closed lip smile was a ‘bravado’ smile.”

Motsi’s remark also sparked backlash from viewers, who took to social media to voice their frustrations. Taking to X, formally known as Twitter, one user wrote: “Such a horrible comment to make. That will make people think they haven’t put the time in.”

A second added: “I thought Strictly capped the amount of hours they could rehearse to 8 hours a day? So how can the judges be giving out comments like ‘you need to rehearse more’ when they’ve been doing their 8 hours a day… every day. They aren’t allowed.”

While a third user fumed: “I feel like telling the eldest contestant with the pregnant pro to rehearse more when they have been doing long days, and it’s clear it was because of nerves and not lack of rehearsal is an extremely unfair thing to say.”