Strictly's Dianne Buswell shares 'unbearable pain' that left her fearing for dance career

Detailed summary

Strictly Come Dancing star Dianne Buswell shared the "unbearable pain" she felt after giving birth, claiming it left her fearing "will I ever be able to dance again?"

Pro dancer Dianne Buswell has opened up about the "unbearable pain" she felt that left her fearing "will I ever be able to dance again?" The Strictly Come Dancing star, who gave birth to her first baby in March this year, is dancing with TV presenter Will Best in the current series.

Dianne, 37, welcomed son Bowden Mark Richard Sugg with former Strictly partner, Joe Sugg. She had originally hoped for a natural birth but her plan took an unexpected turn, eventually requiring an emergency caesarean section before the child was born on March 16.

The worst was yet to come, though. The professional dancer faced "unbearable pain" during her recovery, and she even feared whether she would be able to dance again.

Speaking to The Human Edge podcast, Dianne said: "You've got on top of pain, on top of having this newborn and wanting to give it all your attention, but also you can't even get out of bed. To even sit up is a real mission.

"There was one night I had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and I just burst into tears because the pain of just sitting up to manoeuvre myself out of bed was just unbearable. I was like: 'How am I going to recover and will I ever be able to dance again?' That was my initial thoughts. It was like this absolutely tore through my muscles.

"I'm never going to be able to dance again. I've lost all mobility in my legs. I've lost my core strength. It was it was very intense."

Dianne, whose son is now eight months old, did eventually regain her strength and was paired with TV presenter Will Best, most famous for presenting the rebooted Big Brother on ITV.

The Australian dancer joined Strictly in 2017 and has proved successful during almost a decade on the show. She famously won the coveted Glitterball with blind comedian Chris McCausland in 2024.

Dianne has also come second twice - once with her now partner, YouTuber Joe Sugg, and also with actor and model Bobby Brazier.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Daily Mirror. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.