Strictly Come Dancing star Vito Coppola has admitted to being left in tears after his co-star Dianne Buswell shared a sweet moment of her young son watching him rehearse in the famous ballroom.
The Italian professional dancer is competing in this year's BBC One contest alongside EastEnders star Lacey Turner, with the pair set to perform in week eight of the 2026 series on Saturday night (November 14). Last weekend they performed a Rumba to Yellow by Coldplay, landing 30 points. Judges' comments included head judge Shirley saying Lacey suffered "a nervous stutter at the start but [had] lovely timing" and that she "handled a difficult routine". The head judge also asked: "Give me more confidence because you're much better than you think!"
Dianne Buswell shares clip of son in the ballroom
Ahead of their next performance, Dianne Buswell shared an adorable clip on Instagram of her son, Bowden, in the ballroom watching Vito and Lacey rehearse their routine before last Saturday night's (November 7) live show. Dianne, who welcomed her son, nicknamed Bowie, with her partner and former Strictly finalist Joe Sugg back in March, gushed on Instagram: "[face holding back tears and heart emojis] Bowie is so lucky to be loved by the Strictly fam floor manager Alan, giving him a cuddle whilst he watched Uncle Vito and Lacey dance their beautiful rumba …the way Bowie is holding onto Alan's thumb @vitocoppola @laceyturner @conley_alan."
In response to the post, Vito commented: "Omg Gorjiii this made me sooooo emotional. It's the whole thing together and he is the cutest. zio Vito loves you so much and will always be there for you. My heart is melting right now. Ohhh this is the purest little face ever. Love him so so sooooo much."
Former Strictly stars react to the sweet update
A string of former Strictly stars also responded to the update. Kimberley Walsh said: "Aw this is so gorgeous." Amber Davies replied: "Nooooo this is too cute." Stacey Dooley posted: "NO STOPPPPPPPP."
The clip comes after Dianne shared an emotional full-circle moment with her baby son as he joined her in the Strictly ballroom as her journey in the 2026 run continues. The pro returned for her 10th season in September and was seen being paired with Big Brother host Will Best for this year's contest, which heads into its seventh week on Saturday (November 7) night.
Fans will recall that, ahead of the 2025 series in September last year, the professional dancer announced she and her partner Joe were expecting their first child, several years after the couple met on Strictly when they were paired together for the 2018 series. It was in March that she and Joe welcomed their son, announcing the news on Instagram with first pictures of their baby boy and the caption: "Never felt a love like it. Baby Bowden Mark Richard Sugg. 16/03/26."
Ahead of her return to compete last year, Dianne was reunited on the dance floor with comedian Chris McCausland as they returned to dance one last time together in the Strictly ballroom, having won and lifted the Glitterball trophy during the 2024 series. Amid last weekend's show, Dianne took to Instagram with a sweet video, sharing a clip of herself and Chris walking out into the ballroom for their last performance, before the video transitioned to show her walking through the studio this week and onto the dance floor with her son Bowie in her arms.
"Bowie visited the studio yesterday we had a little dance together! He said the studio looks bigger from inside my tummy [face holding back tears and heart emojis]," the Australian star captioned the post.
