Kai Widdrington and Dianne Buswell

Kai Widdrington was met with backlash for his routine with Dianne Buswell (Image: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing made its eagerly awaited return to screens in September with a fresh hoard of famous faces paired with professional partners to guide them to the finale this winter. The launch show premiered with overnight figures which showed that ratings for the 2025 launch matched 2024, peaking at 5.6million viewers and averaging 5.4 million across the 90-minute show. It kicked off with a hilarious sketch in which the 2024 champion Chris McCausland refused to give up the Glitterball trophy for the new series, forcing its hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to take drastic measures.

After pleading with the comedian, they were eventually able to get the trophy after reigning judge Craig Revel Horwood, who forced Chris out of the dressing room by reading out a line of his poetry. The episode then took viewers to the dancefloor where the professionals made their series 23 with a spectacular group performance. Fan-favourite Dianne Buswell emerged on the shoulders of Kai Widdrington, proudly holding up the Glitterball trophy.

 

Dianne on Kai's shoulders

Kai was unaware that Dianne was pregnant when filming the launch show (Image: BBC)

As a result, Kai was inundated with backlash despite seamlessly balancing Dianne on his shoulder before gracefully propping her back on her feet.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Express, Kai revealed that neither he nor his co-stars knew the 36-year-old was pregnant at the time.

The beloved Aussie native was in the early stages of pregnancy and only announced it to the world just days before the pre-recorded episode aired.

The dancer shared: “I didn’t knew she was pregnant then.” As for his reaction to the happy news, Kai added: “I was like ‘You could’ve told me.’

“There’s been TikToks everywhere of people [reenacting] Dianne’s baby in the womb.”

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Dianne and Joe's pregnancy announcement

Dianne announced her pregnancy days before the launch show (Image: Instagram)

However, when questioned if he would’ve still gone ahead with the move if he was made aware, Kai confirmed: “Of course, I would have taken even more care.

“But, she said she felt very safe on my shoulder, which is always nice, but I would’ve loved to have known in advance.”

Following her pregnancy announcement, Dianne will be breaking history as the first-ever pregnant professional on the show to be dancing each week with the baby bump.

The expectant mother has assured fans that she is following doctors orders, who advised her to “crack on and keep doing what you were doing” as she is an experienced dancer.