Dianne Claire Buswell (born 6 May 1989) is an Australian professional dancer. She is best known for her appearances on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing. After competing on Dancing with the Stars in Australia, she joined the British series in 2017, reaching the final in 2018 and 2023 with Joe Sugg and Bobby Brazier respectively.
Career
Buswell is a former Australian Open champion and four-time Amateur Australian Open finalist.[1] She and her brother Andrew Buswell were Western Australian Open Adult New Vogue champions for 2008 and 2010.[2][3] She also appeared on So You Think You Can Dance Australia.[4]
Buswell turned professional at the age of 21 when she joined the touring dance company Burn the Floor in January 2011.[5][6] In 2015, she was a professional dancer on the fifteenth season of Australia's Dancing with the Stars, paired with AFL star Jude Bolton; they were the fifth couple eliminated.[7][8]
Buswell returned for her third series in 2019, paired with radio DJ Dev Griffin. They were the third couple to leave the show, after losing a dance-off to Emma Weymouth and Aljaž Skorjanec.[17]
Buswell returned for series 19 in 2021, partnered with Robert Webb, a comedian, actor and writer.[19] Webb withdrew from the competition after three weeks, due to ill health.[20]
^c Webb withdrew from series 19 during week 4 for health reasons, thus the couple effectively finished in 13th place.
^dTony Adams and Katya Jones were announced as the other couple in the bottom two. However, they did not compete in the dance-off due to Adams sustaining a hamstring injury, subsequently leading him to withdraw from the competition, and West to automatically advance to the next round.
^e Due to the withdrawal of Nigel Harman and Katya Jones that occurred hours before the start of the live show, there was no elimination during week 11 of series 21.
Christmas Specials
In 2017, Buswell danced with football player and pundit Robbie Savage for the show's Christmas special.[24] In 2019, Buswell partnered Joe Sugg in the Christmas special.[25] In 2021, she was paired with maître d'hôtel and television personality Fred Sirieix for the Christmas special.[26]
YouTube and other media work
Buswell started a YouTube channel in March 2019, and in December of that year, she was named as the UK's most-subscribed new YouTuber of 2019, having gained almost 230,000 subscribers.[27]
Before becoming a professional dancer, Buswell was a hairdresser, and in January 2021, she began a podcast with BBC Sounds called 'Di's Salon', in which she chats to guests as they look back at the hairstyles they have had over the years.[28]
Buswell was born in Bunbury, Western Australia.[30] She began dancing at age 5, and went on to compete from an early age in State, National and International Ballroom and Latin events.[31]
Buswell dated soap actor Anthony Quinlan from late 2017 to October 2018.[32]
In late 2018, Buswell began dating Joe Sugg, her celebrity partner from Strictly Come Dancing.[33] The couple confirmed that they were living together in August 2019.[34] In February 2021, they revealed that they had bought a house together.[35]
