Dance will always be a part of who I am

ALTHOUGH Oti Mabuse is no longer a professional on Strictly, she will never miss an opportunity to get her dancing shoes on.

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She toured the country with her own stage show this summer, teaches at her own dance school, and is married to a dancer who she dances with in the kitchen and all round the house.

And when she's not dancing, the native South African is planning routines for others, as a choreographer on Strictly.

"I still do all things that involve dance because that will always be a part of who I am," says the two-time Strictly winner (along with dance partners Kelvin Fletcher in 2019 and Bill Bailey the following year).

"I don’t dance so much now - it’s mostly me teaching and watching other people. But on my socials, I dance all the time. I grab my husband and we dance in the kitchen, we dance in the living room, we dance in hotel rooms - we dance everywhere."

Oti left Strictly - her sister Motsi is still a judge - in 2022, and has been a behind-the-scenes choreographer for the show for the last few years. But doesn’t she wish she was still dancing in it?

"No, no, no!" she declares. "Honestly, I love supporting all of my friends. I'm so happy with what I’m doing right now, but it’s also nice that I'm just watching my friends do their own thing."

Meanwhile Oti, 35, is primarily looking after her daughter, who's nearly two. Sometimes she even takes her to work with her. "I'm incredibly lucky," she says. "Sometimes I go to work and I think 'Wow, what a great life! It’s a great position in life to call this work.