BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans 'squeal' as they spot unexpected star in audience

The special guest sparked delight as the professional dancers and their celebrity partners made their way onto the dance floor for week 5

Strictly Come Dancing fans were delighted to see former pro Oti Mabuse return to the show as she appeared in the audience on Saturday night. The professional dancer, whose sister Motsi is a judge on the BBC show, left the competition in 2022 after being there for seven seasons.

During her tenure she lifted the glitterball twice, in 2019 and 2020 with Kevin Fletcher and Bill Bailey, respectively. Oti, 34, opened up on her decision to leave the show as she revealed she had been struggling off camera.

Speaking on the All Change podcast, she told host Annie Mac: “Luckily my husband again has been an amazing person who has seen the dark days, the days where I’m in the shower crying with my clothes on because it’s so hard and it’s so overwhelming. He’s seen me not eat, he’s seen me overeat, he’s seen me struggle with not being able to get the best out of someone. He’s seen me having to deal with interesting personalities.”

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She continued: “So, he’s the person that’s seen the behind the scenes at the point where I’d got to where I was like, ‘I think I’m finished.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I think there’s this new thing that’s got a fire in your stomach. When you’re hosting or talking to people, you’re a completely different person.’”

She added: “I came from the biggest show on television. Every single human being on this planet, in this country, loves Strictly. People are obsessed. When you come from there, you are with that group, then when you decide you’re going to leave it’s like: ‘What? What do you mean?’

"I was met with a lot of: ‘Why would you leave? You’re happy, you’re at the top of your professional game, your professional game, you won the show?’”

Fans were delighted to see the star return to the show, even if it was just to support her sister and the dancers. One wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Oti is in the audience #Strictly."

A second added: "Just SQUEALED seeing Oti in the audience."