Dianne Buswell has opened up about the traumatic birth of her son Bowden, revealing she experienced 'unbearable' pain after an emergency caesarean section. The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 37, burst into tears as she described the difficulty of recovering from the procedure.
Emergency C-section ordeal
Buswell gave birth to her first child, Bowden Mark Richard Sugg, on 16 March 2026. The Australian dancer had to undergo an emergency C-section, leaving her in excruciating pain. Speaking on the Oxydise podcast, she said: 'I just burst into tears. The pain of having to sit up and trying to manoeuvre myself out of bed was just unbearable.'
Fears for her career
The Strictly star admitted her pregnancy complications jeopardised her entire career. She feared she might never dance again after welcoming her baby boy. 'My number one thing is how am I gonna recover and am I going to be able to dance again,' she said on the podcast.
Historic pregnancy on Strictly
Buswell announced her pregnancy in 2025 and made history as the first professional dancer to participate in the BBC programme while expecting. She danced on Series 23 alongside actor Stefan Dennis before pulling out after four weeks due to Dennis suffering a calf injury.
New life as a mother
Since giving birth, Buswell has frequently posted updates on social media about her new life as a mum. She revealed the meaning behind her son's name, Bowden, which comes from the village where her partner Joe Sugg and his sister Zoe were raised. Buswell and Sugg first met when they were paired on Strictly in 2018 and have been together ever since.
