Who is Motsi Mabuse? Everything you need to know about the new Strictly judge

Big sister of dance professional Oti Mabuse, Motsi is a judge on Strictly's German version

Thomas Ling

Published: Monday, 22 July 2019 at 5:09 pm

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And Darcey Bussell’s replacement on the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel is… Motsi Mabuse! Yes, that’s Motsi Mabuse, big sister of Oti Mabuse, who is currently a professional dancer on BBC1's ballroom extravaganza.

Promising to bring her “own bit of sparkle” to the competition, Motsi will be critiquing the celebrity performances alongside judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli when the show returns later this year.

Here’s everything you need to know about her…

Who is Motsi Mabuse?

Like her younger sister Oti (28), 38-year-old Motsi is a professional dancer and is a former German Latin and South African champion. And Strictly shouldn’t be too much of a shock for her having judged on the German version of the show, Let's Dance, for its past seven series.

Before that Motsi also competed as a dancer on the show, being paired alongside several celebrity partners. However, she never made the final, reaching only fifth place at best.

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Growing up in South Africa, Motsi was expected to become a lawyer and studied the subject at the University of Pretoria. However, her passion for dance took over and she soon became the German Latin dance champion with Ukraine's Evgenij Voznyuk.

Strictly won’t be the first time Motsi has appeared on British TV having made an appearance with her sister on C4’s Celebrity Gogglebox with their sister Phemelo.

As Motsi confirmed on her Instagram, she will continue working with Let’s Dance, which airs during Springtime.

Will Motsi judge sister Oti on Strictly Come Dancing?

Most likely, yes. Oti is once again expected to return as a professional dancer on the show, meaning Motsi will have to score her sister and celebrity partner.

However, this won’t be anything too new for the siblings, with Motsi previously critiquing Oti on Let’s Dance.