Dianne Buswell has made a sweet nod to her baby bump after her first live dance with Neighbours veteran, Stefan Dennis. The Strictly pro addressed her growing baby bump with a sweet comment just days after she was forced to defend performing while pregnant. Dianne, 36, and Stefan, 66, danced the foxtrot to the Neighbours theme song in an apt homage to the actor's 40-year tenure on the Australian soap. Following the pair's first live dance, Strictly host Tess Daly said: "Dianne, we cannot let you leave the floor without saying congratulations."
The dancer, who previously revealed that she and boyfriend Joe Sugg were expecting a baby boy, replied: "Thank you so much... That's why we're in blue tonight," before quickly adding: "Not really, but let's pretend!" Dianne first announced her pregnancy with her boyfriend of seven years, Joe Sugg, on Instagram a week before Strictly kicked off. The pair first struck up a romance while competing on the programme together in 2018.
Dianne's comments come after the Strictly pro was forced to call out a troll on her Instagram who complained about her participating in this year's contest while pregnant. The dancer, 36, made Strictly history by being the first professional to perform during pregnancy after announcing the happy news with her boyfriend, Joe Sugg. While the support for Dianne has been overwhelming, a small minority of trolls have taken to social media to complain.
One critic wrote: "I don't want to see her dance being pregnant, it's already feeling uncomfortable and she's only starting to show. It's really not appropriate." Dianne quickly shared the comment on her Instagram Stories and wrote: "I can't believe in 2025 things like this are still being said."
Friends and fans came out in droves to support the dancer, with one friend writing: "Saw @diannebuswell's story and just had to say something. Her dancing pregnant in Strictly this year is nothing short of beautiful and magical. Women's bodies are INCREDIBLE and I don't actually think people realise that." Dianne reposted the story to her own Instagram with a series of heart emojis.
Speaking on her and Chris McCausland's podcast, Winning Isn't Everything, Dianne clarified that her doctor had given her clearance to perform. She said her doctor had advised that since she had been dancing since she was five years old, there was no reason to stop now. "I'm still doing everything I did before," she says on the podcast. "Obviously with lifts there's going to be a bit more caution. But my doctor has said everything is normal."