Reigning Strictly Come Dancing winner Dianne Buswell has admitted she’s found being on the live tour without Chris McCausland “really tough”.
Despite winning the BBC show towards the end of last year with professional dancer Dianne, 35, comedian Chris, 47, became the first champion to miss the show’s UK tour, which clashed with his own comedy shows this year. Taking to YouTube with her latest vlog, Dianne spoke about doing the Strictly tour without him and told viewers that it’s been “really tough”.
“Chris can’t do [the tour]. It’s actually been really tough for me to see everyone else with their partners and to know that Chris can’t do it. It has been really tough,” she said. Dianne continued: “However, I’m really excited to still be a part of it and very very grateful for that. So y’know I’m counting my lucky stars there. I’ve come home for the weekend and I’ve decided I’ll start a new vlog, the final weekend before tour.”
The tour opened earlier this week and although Dianne is among the professional dancers performing at the gigs, she doesn’t have a celebrity partner for routines. Chris confirmed last year that he would not be joining her, with it revealed that the dates clashed with his Yonks! stand-up tour.
Addressing a fan who asked if he would be involved, he wrote in a post on X in December: “I’m afraid I will not be able to do the Strictly tour. My own tour was meant to be on the road in September and a lot of dates were moved to Jan and Feb to accommodate doing #Strictly.” Chris added at the time: “It’s unfortunate as it’s been so much fun, but my own dates can’t be moved for a second time.”
Although he isn’t part of the tour, several celebrities from the latest series of Strictly did sign up for it. Jamie Borthwick, Montell Douglas, Wynne Evans, Tasha Ghouri, JB Gill, Sarah Hadland and Shayne Ward are in the line-up.
The Strictly tour opened in Birmingham on Friday, ahead of scheduled dates at venues in cities such as Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester. The tour is set to conclude with its final show in London next month on February 9.
It launched just weeks after the latest series of Strictly concluded. The final in December saw contestant Chris crowned the winner alongside his dance partner Dianne. He had competed against JB, Tasha and Sarah in the episode.
Chris’ stand-up tour began in Winchester on Tuesday and the comedian is set to visit a host of locations in the coming months including Liverpool, the Isle of Wight and Cardiff. The tour is currently due to continue into next year.
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