Sisters Oti and Motsi Mabuse are limbering up for prime-time’s biggest dance-off – as they go head-to-head on rival Saturday night shows.
The siblings were both Strictly stalwarts on BBC One until Oti, 32, jumped ship and hotfooted it to The Masked Dancer on ITV.
She got a head start on big sis Motsi, 41, as her show kicked off tonight – a fortnight before Strictly Come Dancing returns for its 20th anniversary series on September 17.
But Oti reckons there is room on the dance floor for both of them.
She said: “There is a space for everyone. I’ve been a part of Strictly for so long – it’s part of your life – so I just wish everyone does well. That’s the only thing I can hope for.”
Motsi joined Strictly as a judge in 2019, after former ballerina Darcy Bussell left. Oti was a professional dancer on the show for five years.
Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
She picked up the glitterball twice – in 2019 with actor Kelvin Fletcher and in 2020 with comedian Bill Bailey – before she left to become a Masked Dancer judge in 2021.
And while she loved working with her sister, Oti said she is also relishing her time on the panel with Davina McCall, 54, Jonathan Ross, 61, and The Masked Dancer’s new judge, footie legend Peter Crouch, 41.
She said: “I am enjoying what I’m doing now. I’ve always wanted to learn new things.
“I won Strictly twice and I’ve been grateful to be a part of such a big show.
“It’s one of those shows, especially as a professional dancer, that you will always be associated with it... But, yes, I do feel people see me for being me now.”
In The Masked Dancer, the audience and judges have to guess the famous faces hiding behind elaborate costumes as they bust some moves on the dance floor.
And Oti revealed she takes her role on the panel so seriously that she has even messaged Davina at 3.30am – just to run potential names by her fellow judge.
“I’m up all night trying to get it,” she admitted. “I think it’s the competitor in me. I just love to get it right.
“The worst thing is when you say someone is not a dancer... but they are.”
But Oti isn’t the only person to get sucked in by the guessing game. She revealed fans of the show go to extreme lengths to find out who is under the masks – and often try to find out if she has the answers.
She said: “I love it when I am just taking a black cab and you get the driver going, ‘Oi, Oti, who is it?’
“Or when you’re in the bathroom and they go knock-knock-knock, ‘Who’s scissors?’”
