Strictly Come Dancing’s Dianne Buswell has been flooded with support after she announced the death of her grandfather on Sunday (6 July).
The Australian ballroom dancer, who joined the BBC show in 2017, posted an emotional tribute to her 99-year-old “pop” on Instagram.
Buswell commented: “Rest in peace pop. You were 99 years young. Thank you for all the stories and I just know you will be up there dancing with Nan already.”
The 36-year-old won the show alongside the actor and comedian Chris McCausland in 2024, for which she was awarded with a Bafta earlier this year.
The dancer’s Instagram tribute shows a video of her dancing with her grandfather, after surprising him in Australia following the win.
Recorded by the YouTuber Joe Sugg, Buswell’s partner since 2018, the footage shows the two dancing together.
Colleague Michelle Tsiakkas commented: “‘I’m so sorry for your loss Di Sending you and your family all my love”.
Fellow Strictly star Nancy Xu posted: “D D Sending you all the love”.
Johannes Radebe, who has been a dancer on Strictly since 2018, wrote: “So sorry Dianne Darling.”
Spanish dancer and fellow Strictly star Gorka Marquez added: “Sending love to you and the family.”
In March, Buswell announced the death of her grandmother on social media, commenting: “Rest in peace nan Love you very much. I’m so grateful I was home to say goodbye to such a special lady in my life. Now go be with pop he has been patiently waiting for you.”
Buswell rose to fame in 2018 after she reached Strictly Come Dancing’s final with the actor and model Bobby Jack Brazier, best known as Freddie Slater in EastEnders.
Earlier this year, Buswell and McCausland announced that they are recording a podcast together. They shared the news on their respective Instagram grids, both posting a video of them having a laugh together and writing: “Want more of this nonsense? Chris and Dianne are going to be hooking up for a weekly publicly available catch-up, otherwise known as a podcast.”
Buswell previously revealed she had been told that she wouldn’t make it far in the competition once she had been assigned McCausland. The pair had named their team “Winning is not everything,” as McCausland admitted that he felt other couples were better.
In a dedication to Buswell in his victory speech, McCausland said: “We’ve lasted and lasted and Dianne has got so much out of me. She deserves this so much. Every day she’s just positivity and belief and she’s just one of the easiest people to be funny with than I’ve ever met.”
