Dianne Buswell Opens Up About Her Early Strictly Departure

Last week, it was announced that Robert Webb was leaving Strictly Come Dancing for health reasons. The comedian, 49, who had open heart surgery two years ago, withdrew from the competition following tests and medical advice. In a statement, he praised his Strictly professional partner, Dianne Buswell, writing: 'I couldn't have wished for a more talented partner or more patient teacher, and it's a measure of Dianne's professionalism and kindness that I was able to get as far as I did.'

It's obviously been a weird time for Dianne, who's quickly gone from a packed schedule - training from 8am to 6pm with Robert - to rehearsing only for group numbers with the other professionals. 'Your life is so consumed with Strictly - you don't even have time to WhatsApp somebody back,' the 32-year-old says, speaking to Grazia. 'It's so time consuming, especially for the pro because I'm thinking about it 24/7; I'm thinking about the choreography and how I can make things easier for my partner. From the costumes to the psychical dancing side of it, you think of absolutely everything. And then when you stop, all of a sudden, you just have so much time on your hands compared to what you've had.'

But, of course, she's glad Robert is OK - and knows withdrawing from the competition was the right thing for his wellbeing. It feels easier and slightly different to being eliminated, she says, as she doesn't feel like she was to blame. Dianne adds: 'He did loads of tests going into Strictly and [cardiologists] assured him he would be fine, but you never can tell with these kinds of things. And we're lucky that we sort of jumped on it early - there was no damage done. I think it was the right decision for him to pull out, purely for his health.'

She also says that Robert informed Dianne first, before the Strictly team let her know. 'He actually told me first before the producers did, which was really lovely of him,' the dancer adds, 'And he was said he was sorry. But I just said to him please don't be sorry, this is no way any of your fault.'

Since, both Dianne and Robert have been papped out on errands, with articles running the photos as their 'first appearances in public' since leaving the show. But Dianne tries to focus primarily on the dancing, instead of the media attention. 'As long as you're confident in what you're producing in terms of the dancing, I think you have to not really look into the the media side of it,' she says. 'Because, you know, there can be negative media or it could be positive but I always find if I don't look into it, then I'm fine.' (There was also lots of media attention when Dianne was dancing with her now-boyfriend Joe Sugg in 2019.)

It's clear to see Dianne lives and breathes Strictly, so she isn't letting this hurdle get her down. 'It's a show that a lot of professional dancers would absolutely love to be on so I never take any moment for granted,' Dianne continues. 'It's the whole machine of Strictly - you're treated so well from the minute you arrive, to the minute you leave, even when the show's not on, they're always checking in on you. You're teaching someone to dance who's never danced before and seeing the joy on their face when they finally get it is a crazy feeling... It's so, so special. There's so much that I love, I feel very privileged to be a part of it.'

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