Former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer and TV presenter Oti Mabuse has sparked rumours of a return to the BBC One dancing show, after she was spotted rehearing with the other professional dancers. Preparation is currently underway for Strictly's 20th series, which is set to air in the autumn. Recently, BBC confirmed which celebrities would be taking part, which you can read about here.
Oti, herself, announced that she'd be leaving Strictly earlier this year. The 31-year-old, who also works on ITV's Dancing on Ice and The Masked Dancer, has now been spotted on the Instagram Stories of both Amy Dowden and Neil Jones - who it is rumoured may be partnering with Helen Skelton this year.
"Our queen back," newlywed Amy wrote alongside a picture of herself, Oti and Nancy Xu together. Amy then revealed that despite a rumoured return, Oti was only back "for one day" and teased her for borrowing her top for rehearsals. Neil also shared a video which showed Oti helping Karen Hauer with a few steps. "Look who's back," he wrote alongside it.
Read more: Celebrity Gogglebox star says he turned down Strictly Come Dancing as fans beg him to do it
Oti began working on Strictly Come Dancing during its 13th series in 2015. She subsequently won the series in both 2019 and 2020, first with Emmerdale's Kelvin Fletcher and then with comedian Bill Bailey.
She announced her departure from the series in a post on Instagram in which she wrote: "Never easy to say goodbye. I have been part of the most amazing TV show, Strictly Come Dancing for the past seven years and it has been an incredible time. Lifting the glitter ball twice and having the best journey with all my celebrities, but also meeting and working with the best team, crew, producers, celebs and incredible professional dancers!
"I’m honestly so grateful to The BBC and will always remember that Strictly and BBC brought me to the UK - which I now call home and I have learnt and grown so much. - Thank You from the bottom of my heart.
"I can’t put in to words how difficult this decision has been, but I have decided not to return for the next series."
Since her departure, Oti has hosted the ITV dating show, Romeo & Duet. The series, itself, received criticism and was panned by critics and viewers. Despite this, Oti told WalesOnline that she “doesn’t expect everyone to love the show right off the bat". The series has since been axed. You can read more about that here.
Strictly's upcoming launch show - which will see the celebrities paired with their professional partners for the first time - will record on Wednesday, September 7 and be broadcast on BBC One on either Saturday, September 10 or Saturday, September 17. This will be confirmed in due course.
Similar to previous years, the celebrities will then get time to rehearse a dance routine with their new partners. The first live show of the series will be on Saturday, September 24 on BBC One, the series will then continue weekly as normal through to Saturday, December 17 with the live final. Strictly will return to Blackpool's Tower Ballroom on Saturday, November 19. For more showbiz and television stories, get our newsletter here.
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