Oti Mabuse is returning to the Strictly Come Dancing franchise as she has been announced as the head judge of Dancing With The Stars Ireland.
The TV star, 35, was a professional dancer on Strictly for six years, winning in 2019 with Kevin Clifton and again in 2020 with Bill Bailey.
She left the BBC show the following year and has since focused on her presenting career, hosting Oti Mabuse’s Breakfast Show in 2023 and appearing as a regular panellist on Loose Women.
But Oti couldn’t be kept away from the dancefloor for too long as she has joined the judging panel of the Irish series, replacing recently departed judge Loraine Barry.
Irish broadcaster RTE One shared a stunning photo of the star alongside the other judges Brian Redmond, Karen Byrne and Arthur Gourounlian.
Several of Oti’s former Strictly colleagues congratulated her on the new gig.
Oti Mabuse is returning to the Strictly Come Dancing franchise as she has been announced as the head judge of Dancing With The Stars Ireland
Irish broadcaster RTE One shared a stunning photo of the star alongside the other judges Brian Redmond, Karen Byrne and Arthur Gourounlian
Her sister Motsi, who is a judge on Strictly, wrote: ‘Let’s go’ while It Takes Two hosts Janette Manrara and Fleur East wrote: ‘Yaaaassss! Congrulations! and ‘Incredible’.
Amy Dowden added: ‘Amazing news! Congrats xxx’ while current Strictly contender Vicky Pattison wrote: ‘Oh here she is’.
Oti said: ‘I am so excited to be here and I cannot wait to get going. We’re gonna dance!’
Asked what she’ll bring to the panel, she added: ‘I definitely think I’m very loud and I’m up for a good time so even though I do love seeing technically beautiful dances, really traditional Latin and ballroom dancing, it woukdn’t hurt to have a little bit of fun with it.
‘I love when somebody works hard and starts from scratch and gets the basics correct and after that they include the artistry and the flow and the choreography.
‘So I am looking for the techniques but more so, I want to know how you’re going to make me feel. I want you to connect with me, with the audience and everyone at home.’
Earlier this year, Oti opened up about having a ‘toxic’ relationship with her body image after spending her career as a professional dancer.
The star said part of the journey is accepting that she no longer has a dancer’s body after going through ‘ups and downs’ and welcoming her baby daughter.
Oti said: ‘I am so excited to be here and I cannot wait to get going. We’re gonna dance!’
Several of Oti’s former Strictly colleagues congratulated her on the new gig
The dancer took home the Strictly trophy in 2019 with actorf Kevin Clifton
Oti won Strictly for the second time in 2020 with Bill Bailey
Speaking to Prima magazine, she said: ‘Growing up, I always thought that the people who did the best (in dancing) were the thinnest, and you always felt like, “If I need to be successful, I need to look like that.” And I think it’s not just Latin and ballroom dancers, it’s across the board.
‘All dancers, we always feel like that. And so we then have this very toxic relationship with our bodies, and even when you walk into the room, and if you’ve lost weight, they go, “Oh my gosh, she looks so good.”
Oti revealed she has now found peace with her body, telling the publication: ‘I’m now coming into the world as a human being who used to dance, not as a dancer. I still dance, but I’m a person first, before the dancer.
‘My body has had its ups and downs; the gaining of the weight, the losing of the weight, having the baby. It’s been such a rollercoaster, but I think it’s normal to experience that as a woman. Yes, there are some moments where I feel, “Oh my gosh, I’m not happy with what I look like,”…
‘And then I have to say to myself in the mirror “No, you are good. You are perfect. You have had a baby, you’ve had a human being come out of you. It’s okay to not look perfect, as long as you move, as long as you’re trying to be healthy.’
Oti’s time on Strictly was hugely successful and she walked away a two-time champion following successive wins with Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey.
Reflecting on her time on the show, she said: ‘When I look back on Strictly, I think the whole seven-year journey was amazing. I still work on the show. I still do choreography, I’m still talking to the producers.
‘I say that the show brought me everything, like me sitting here today, and the relationship still very much continues. There were ups, there were downs; if you can imagine being the first Black anything, anywhere, there will always be ups and downs.’
