Dianne Claire Buswell (born 6 May 1989) is an Australian professional dancer who is best known for her appearances on the British television show ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. After competing on ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' in Australia, she joined the British series in 2017, reaching the final in 2018 with

Joe Sugg Joseph Graham Sugg (born 8 September 1991) is an English YouTuber. In 2012, he began posting videos on the YouTube channel ThatcherJoe, currently at 7.27 million subscribers and 1.33 billion overall channel views. In 2018, he was a finalist on t ...

and in 2023 with

Bobby Brazier Bobby Jack Brazier (born 2 June 2003) is an English actor and model. Present in the public eye from birth due to the popularity of his mother, Jade Goody, he was frequently featured in the media throughout the formative years of his life until ...

, before winning the contest with Chris McCausland in 2024, for which she also won a

BAFTA award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

in 2025.

Career

Dianne Claire Buswell was born on 6 May 1989. She is a former Australian Open champion and four-time Amateur Australian Open finalist. She and her brother Andrew Buswell were Western Australian Open Adult New Vogue champions for 2008 and 2010. She also appeared on '' So You Think You Can Dance Australia''. Buswell turned professional at the age of 21 when she joined the touring dance company ''

Burn the Floor Burn the Floor is a live dance show which has performed around the world, including on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in New York City and the West End of London, West End in London. Since 1997, Burn the Floor has performed in over 130 countries ...

'' in January 2011. In 2015, she was a professional dancer on the fifteenth season of Australia's ''

'', paired with AFL star Jude Bolton; they were the fifth couple eliminated.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Buswell moved to the United Kingdom, where she joined the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

'' – the original version of ''Dancing with the Stars'' – in 2017. Her celebrity partner for the 2017 series was the Reverend Richard Coles. They were the second couple eliminated in the series, losing the dance-off to Simon Rimmer and

Karen Hauer Karen Hauer (formerly Clifton; born 20 April 1982) is a Venezuelan-American professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion, best known for her appearances on the British television series ''Strictly Come Dancing''. She is currently ...

in a unanimous decision. Buswell was paired with television presenter

Tim Vincent Tim Vincent (born Timothy Russell Walker; 4 November 1972) is a British actor and television presenter from Overton-on-Dee, Wales. He appeared on the BBC children's programme ''Blue Peter'' between 1993 and 1997 and has presented several Miss ...

for the 2017 Children in Need special. For the sixteenth series of the show in 2018, she was partnered with YouTuber

. They were runners-up, alongside

Faye Tozer Faye Louise Tozer Smith (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer and actress, best known as a member of the pop group Steps. Career Music Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their name ...

and

Giovanni Pernice Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (2012 ...

and

Ashley Roberts Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981) is an American born, British based singer, dancer, and media personality. She was a member of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021), who sold over 55 million records worldwide ...

and

Pasha Kovalev Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (; born 19 January 1980) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer. Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2000, moved to the United States with his professional dance partner Anya Garnis. In 2007, t ...

, behind

Stacey Dooley Stacey Jaclyn Dooley (born 9 March 1987) is an English television presenter, journalist, and media personality. She came to prominence in 2008 as a participant on the documentary series '' Blood, Sweat and T-shirts''. Since then, she has made ...

and

Kevin Clifton Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor, who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on ...

. In early 2019, the couple performed in the '' Strictly Come Dancing Live!'' tour, winning 28 of the 29 shows. Buswell returned for her third series in 2019, paired with radio DJ Dev Griffin. They were the third couple to leave the show, after losing a dance-off to Emma Weymouth and Aljaž Skorjanec. For series 18 in 2020, she was partnered with

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band formed in 2009, and originally consisted of members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker, and Nathan Sykes. The group signed a worldwide contract to Universal Music, Island Reco ...

singer,

Max George Maximillian Albert George (born 6 September 1988) is an English singer, best known as the lead singer of the boy band The Wanted. George started his career as a footballer, playing for Preston North End F.C., Preston North End. After an injur ...

. They were the third couple to be eliminated, after losing a dance-off to

Maisie Smith Maisie Louise Collender Smith (born 9 July 2001) is an English actress and singer. She appeared in the feature film ''The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film), The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008) and played the regular role of Tiffany Butcher in the BBC O ...

and Gorka Marquez. Buswell returned for series 19 in 2021, partnered with

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb. Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Peep Show' ...

, a comedian, actor and writer. Webb withdrew from the competition after three weeks, due to ill health. In 2022, she was paired with radio and television presenter Tyler West for series 20. They were the eighth couple to be eliminated after losing a dance-off to

Molly Rainford Molly Anne Rainford (born 22 November 2000) is an English actress, singer and television presenter. She was a finalist on the Britain's Got Talent series 6, sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2012 and was one of the presenters on ''Fri ...

and Carlos Gu. In 2023, she was paired with actor and model

for series 21. They finished as runners-up, alongside Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin, behind series champions

Ellie Leach Ellie Louise Leach (born 15 March 2001) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Faye Windass on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' between 2011 and 2023. Following her exit from the soap, she won the twenty-first series ...

and Vito Coppola. In 2024, she was paired with comedian Chris McCausland for series 22. They won the series, with Buswell winning for the first time and McCausland becoming the first blind contestant to win. In May 2025, the couple's waltz - which featured a passage of McCausland walking unaided and unsighted - won the British Academy Television Award for Memorable Moment at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards. Colour key: Highest and lowest scoring per dance In the following tables, ' indicates the couple(s) with the lowest score for that week.

Series 15: with Reverend Richard Coles

Series 16: with Joe Sugg

Series 17: with Dev Griffin

Series 18: with Max George

Series 19: with Robert Webb

Series 20: with Tyler West

Series 21: with Bobby Brazier

Series 22: with Chris McCausland

;Notes : Alfonso Ribeiro filled in for Tonioli : Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

travel restrictions Mabuse had to be replaced with Anton du Beke for week 4 of Series 18. : Webb withdrew from series 19 during week 4 for health reasons, thus the couple effectively finished in 13th place. :

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. Known as Mr. Arsenal, he spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre-back t ...

and

Katya Jones Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; ; 12 May 1989) is a Russians, Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which she won in 2017 with her ...

were announced as the other couple in the bottom two. However, they did not compete in the dance-off due to Adams sustaining a hamstring injury, subsequently leading him to withdraw from the competition, and West to automatically advance to the next round. : Due to the withdrawal of Nigel Harman and

that occurred hours before the start of the live show, there was no elimination during week 11 of series 21.

Christmas Specials

In 2017, Buswell danced with football player and pundit Robbie Savage for the show's Christmas special. In 2019, Buswell partnered

in the Christmas special, which featured all returning pairs from previous seasons. In 2021, she was paired with

maître d'hôtel The ; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d'' ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the waiting staff, welcom ...

and television personality Fred Sirieix for the Christmas special.

YouTube and other media work

Buswell started a YouTube channel in March 2019, and in December of that year, she was named as the UK's most-subscribed new YouTuber of 2019, having gained almost 230,000 subscribers. Before becoming a professional dancer, Buswell was a hairdresser, and in 2021, she had a podcast with

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

called 'Di's Salon', in which she chatted to guests as they looked back at the hairstyles they have had over the years. In 2022, Buswell participated in the reality series ''

Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof ''Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof'' is a British reality television competition series presented by Holly Willoughby and Lee Mack. The series began broadcasting on BBC One on 12 April 2022. The series follows eight celebrities who are trained by D ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. In January 2025, Buswell and her Strictly partner Chris McCausland began a podcast called ''Winning Isn't Everything''.

Filmography

Television

Stage

Podcast

Personal life

Buswell was born in

Bunbury, Western Australia Bunbury () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's third most populous city after Perth and Mandurah, with a population of approximately 75,000. Loca ...

. She began dancing at age 5, and went on to compete from an early age in State, National and International Ballroom and Latin events. Buswell dated soap actor

Anthony Quinlan Anthony Quinlan (born 16 October 1984) is a British actor from Salford, England, known for his roles as Gilly Roach in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' and Pete Barton in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Career Quinlan played Gilly R ...

from late 2017 to October 2018. In late 2018, Buswell began dating

, her celebrity partner from ''Strictly Come Dancing''. The couple confirmed that they were living together in August 2019. In February 2021, they revealed that they had bought their first house together.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buswell, Dianne 1989 births Living people 21st-century Australian dancers Australian ballroom dancers Australian female dancers Australian YouTubers BAFTA winners (people) Australian expatriates in England People from Bunbury, Western Australia Strictly Come Dancing winners