‘I’ve always been a little performer,’ says Dianne Buswell, as we delve headfirst into her goals for 2023.
While most would assume this is a nod to her vocation as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing – a position she has proudly held since 2017 – Dianne is turning her hand to a different realm in the arts.
She enthuses, ‘I’m getting into acting. I've not really done it before, but I'm taking it quite seriously as it's something I've always wanted to do. I want to properly get into it – it’s another little goal for me.’
Of learning the ropes and where the desire to act stemmed from, she says, ‘At the moment, I'm just taking the lessons on board to get the techniques involved with acting.
‘I did a lot of drama at school, but because my life went down the dancing career and took over quite a bit of my time, I never properly had time to get into acting. But it's definitely something that I've always been fascinated with as a little girl. There is no time like the present.’
Luckily for Strictly fans, Australia-born, Sussex-living Dianne does not see acting prevailing over the show that made her a household name.
‘Strictly is part of my future, always,’ she insists. ‘It’s my absolute true passion. Acting is just a little side project really, so who knows where it will take me.’
In 2018, Dianne, 33, had no idea that the BBC show would inadvertently play cupid when she was partnered with YouTuber Joe Sugg. The pair began dating shortly after their incredible run on the show – which culminated with a runner-up placing - and are now living together in a gorgeous countryside home.
‘Making the final with Joe was a really special moment,’ Dianne recalls. ‘And dancing with him in the final… I’ll never forget it. I think it would have to be my favourite memory on Strictly. That, and the very first dance I did with Rev [Reverend Richard Coles, her first-ever partner on the show]. I remember standing there when they called out our names to start the dance. In my head I was going, "What am I doing? Where am I? This is insane. I'm dancing live in front of millions of people right now.”’
Things are going really well with her and Joe, she tells us, and they still dance together. But Dianne is particularly thrilled that her passion for yoga has rubbed off on him. ‘I’m proud to say he’s a little yogi!’
Despite Dianne thriving personally and professionally almost 10,000 miles away from where she grew up – and where her family remain – it doesn’t stop the homesickness from occasionally kicking in.
The redhead admits, ‘I'm always going to miss my home because that's where all my family are. The hardest thing for me is being over here without them.
‘But as much as I love going home to Australia to visit, I really do love coming back here [to the UK]. All my work's here and I feel like everyone's accepted me really well. Strictly has become my family. Joe and Joe's family have become my family.’
In yet another string to her bow, Dianne has poured her wisdom into a self-help book entitled Move Yourself Happy. She explores the power of movement, the importance of rest, the necessity to set boundaries, and encourages readers to set themselves obtainable goals.
Her powerfully honest anecdotes about unhealthy exercise and eating habits were a time, she confides, that left her ‘really miserable’.
‘I would overexercise, and I would undereat,’ she says. ‘I would restrict so much. I found I lost the joy of doing any form of exercise. It was such a mental thing where I had to - if you didn't, you'd punish yourself by maybe not eating as many calories, or you'd go into this awful downward spiral. [Exercise] did become an absolute obsession.’
But Dianne is confident that the downward spiral would not rear its ugly head again, thanks to her taking the time to learn about nutrition and get in touch with her body.
‘I know so much more about my body. I know so much more about movement. When you know and understand your body more, you see the benefits of actually treating it right and doing the right things.’
Having been in the public eye for just short of six years, Dianne knows all too well the pressure that comes with having a full diary and feeling like the answer to anything has to be a resounding ‘yes’.
But boundary setting is something that she is on a journey with – and learning about as she goes.
She stresses, ‘If you feel good, you're going to make other people feel good. When I do say no to things... before, I used to get this feeling of guilt and would feel like I'm letting people down.
‘You have to be okay with putting yourself first and it can take a little bit of time to feel okay with that. But once you do, it's a nice freeing thing because you're only doing things that you really want to do. Even now I'm still learning to say no. There's nothing wrong with being a bit selfish sometimes. Selfishness is okay.’
Move Yourself Happy: 21 Days To Make Joyful Movement A Habit by Dianne Buswell (Watkins Publishing) is published on 14 March.