Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell has responded to criticism of her styling on the current series, telling fans she 'loves' her body eight months after giving birth.
The Australian dancer, 37, has been a firm favourite since joining the BBC show in 2017. She met social media personality Joe Sugg, 35, during the 2018 series, and they confirmed their relationship shortly after the final. In March 2026, they welcomed their first child, a son named Bowden.
Buswell continued dancing through her pregnancy with celebrity partner Stefan Dennis and returned this autumn to partner TV presenter Will Best.
Fan criticism and Buswell's response
Recent weeks have brought harsh comments online, with one individual suggesting she had been deliberately dressed in 'frumpy' costumes since becoming a mum. Commenting under a video of the quickstep she and Will performed this weekend, the user wrote: 'I don't know what's happened to wardrobe this year – I suspect a budget cut – also why do they keep dressing Diane in such frumpy looking costumes, she usually looks fabulous but some of this year's creations have been a little strange 😢'
Buswell responded directly, writing: 'I have loved all my outfits. I had a baby 8 months ago I'm still breast feeding and I'm bigger than I have ever been so actually it's just that I have more weight on me but I love my body and how I look in my costumes 💗🙏'
A fan replied: 'You look stunning in this dress! Love the choreography too. ❤️'
Previous trolling and pregnancy stance
This is not the first time Buswell has faced unkind comments. Last series, the only pro to compete while pregnant, she shut down a message that read: 'I don't want to see her dance being pregnant. It's already feeling uncomfortable and she's only starting to show. It's really not appropriate'. Reposting it, she said: 'I can't believe in 2025 things like this are still being said.'
Earlier in the season, Buswell insisted she would be 'doing everything she did before' despite expecting. 'Obviously, with lifts, there's going to be a bit more caution. But my doctor has said everything is normal,' she told Chris McCausland on their Winning Isn't Everything podcast. 'He said, basically, if you've done it before, in terms of being a dancer, and you've done this, done that, then crack on and keep doing what you're doing,' she added.
Celebrating motherhood and competition progress
Buswell has documented her pregnancy and parenthood journey online. Following the Strictly launch, she posted a photo of her baby belly with the text 'Strong enough to bear the children…' before adding 'Then get back to business' alongside footage of her dancing with Will, who also became a first-time dad weeks ago. She admitted in her caption that she 'misses' her bump and wrote: 'I also want to say to all mummas no matter what you do after giving birth you are all super woman there's no right or wrong just your way don't let any body make you feel otherwise 💙 all mummas are amazing 😻 [sic]'
Strictly co-stars showed support, with Amy Dowden commenting: 'Your a super star and a super mum! Xxx' Nancy Xu wrote: 'D D!!!!YOU ARE INCREDIBLE 🌞💓💓💓', and Oti Mabuse added, 'Yes queen'.
Buswell and Will have avoided all dance-offs so far. This weekend, they placed in the middle of the leaderboard with 29 points after opening the show with their routine to This Love by Maroon 5, earning a six, a seven, and two eights. Craig Revel Horwood said the performance needed 'slight improvements', while Anton Du Beke said Will 'looked so lovely' on the dance floor. Head judge Shirley Ballas added: 'This is a definite improvement; we are working in the right direction, sir!'
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
