Dianne Buswell has angrily denied allegations that her dance partner Stefan Dennis's early departure from Strictly Come Dancing was a deliberate 'set up' because of her pregnancy. The 36-year-old professional dancer, who is expecting her first child with partner Joe Sugg, took to Instagram Stories to address the claims.
Neighbours actor Stefan was forced to withdraw from the BBC show this week after tearing a calf muscle. However, some online critics suggested that he and Dianne had planned an early exit due to her pregnancy. One viewer commented: 'To be honest I saw this coming, Diane couldn't really continue especially when she gets bigger... I think this was planned to keep her and baby safe.'
A furious Dianne responded: 'I sound like a broken record but I'm seeing a bit of this floating around again! I know people say ignore it but actually why should I. I will speak up... I would love nothing more than to keep dancing this week next week the week after that so so on and so forth. In fact I have more energy this year than I did this time last year. Please respect Stefan who is extremely gutted to not be able to dance and stop presuming this was a set up! because believe me we would if we could!'
Stefan expressed his devastation in a statement, saying he was 'forced to withdraw' due to a significant calf tear. He thanked the Strictly family and Dianne for the opportunity. Fellow dancers, including Lauren Oakley and Gorka Marquez, sent their support.
Stefan had previously missed Movie Week due to illness and only returned to rehearsals last week before being eliminated in Sunday's episode.
