Strictly's Stefan Dennis says Dianne Buswell 'is not silly' when competing while pregnant

Having signed up for Strictly Come Dancing from the other side of the world, Stefan Dennis was hit by two surprises when he arrived in the UK to start training. First off the actor, much-loved by millions as cold-hearted and ruthless Neighbours businessman Paul Robinson, was thrilled to discover he’d been paired with a fellow Aussie, in the shape of Dianne Buswell.

And then came the second whammy - Dianne revealed she was about to become the first pro dancer to compete in the BBC competition while pregnant.

Stefan, who has three kids of his own with wife of 25 years Gail, says he’s thrilled for his new best mate, and will do everything in his power to help ensure it all goes smoothly for her.

READ MORE: Strictly live shows to launch with 'biggest ever' performance from the judges

READ MORE: Strictly's Thomas Skinner causing huge BBC headache 'There's nothing they can do'

“Bless her, she's the usual, she's radiant and lovely,” he declares about the reigning champ, who lifted the glitterball trophy last year with partner Chris McCausland. “She’s just a lovely person. You can't help but like her. And now on top of this, she's having a baby and it's brilliant.”

Stefan, who is this year’s oldest contestant at 66, says it’s entirely up to Dianne to decide what she is comfortable with in terms of the routines and training schedule. “She’s not silly when it comes to her body and what she can do and what she can't do,” he reasons. And she's also got massive medical support from the BBC. Her welfare and the baby's welfare are obviously paramount - that’s the top thing. But she's very confident that she's going to be able to do this and I trust her confidence."

He says that one of the show’s welfare producers came to gently break the news to him in his dressing room. “She said, ‘Oh, Stef, we've got some news.’ And I went, ‘Oh, my God - have I been voted out already? It hasn't even started.’”

So when they told him the happy news he was actually relieved. “Knowing Dianne the way I know her now, I think she's going to be a brilliant parent. I think that baby is going to be very, very fortunate.”

Dianne, 36, met her partner Joe Sugg while partnered with him on the show back in 2018 (they made it to the final), so their first child really does feel like a Strictly baby.

“It's like a fairy story, isn't it?” Stefan marvels. Of course it would be perfectly understandable for him to feel nervous of his partner being a mum-to-be given that he’s a total amateu, but he says they’ll just adapt as they go along.

“I will still put in 100% and I know Dianne's going to put in 100% because that's who she is. But yes, as she becomes more pregnant, let’s call it, I think things will become more appropriate for her welfare and the baby's welfare.”

Laughing that he’s unlikely to be whirling her around his head any time soon, he says: “I hope the judges, the audience and the public understand that she will have limitations. But I also know that, within her realm, she will also do her absolute best and push what she can, without any worry at all. At the end of the day, she's an athlete. I think we’ll be just fine.”

They’ll kick off tomorrow night with a foxtrot, which he checked out on YouTube. “It looked nice and gentle and fairly easy. No way! It’s not at all. But you are talking to somebody who's never danced before in their life, so everything's going to be hard for me.”

He thinks that pairing him with Dianne was a stroke of genius, because they are both enjoying talking about their roots Down Under. “To me, yes, it seemed like a bit of a no-brainer. We just clicked and got on straight away, obviously because we had something in common.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that she’s giving him an easy ride. “Dianne gets a little cross with me sometimes, well, she gets frustrated, which is understandable,” he admits. “I would too. She’s got the patience of a saint, which I kind of need.”

It’s testament to his soap popularity that there are people all over social media declaring that they will vote for him regardless of how he actually performs. “Even if I'm crap, I know,” he chuckles.

The actor has watched back some of the dances that Dianne did with Chris last year, for inspiration. “They were just phenomenal,” he sighs. “For her to be able to train Chris, when he has no sight, I think that gave me huge encouragement. I thought if they can do that and if he can achieve that, then I've got no excuses for anything.”

He says Dianne was very excited when he finally got the foxtrot right. “I think we've kind of got it almost nailed,” he ventures. “Put it this way, she said it wouldn't be embarrassing now. So she was a bit worried at one point.”

He’s finding - like many before him - that one of the hardest things is remembering the steps. “I have a shocking memory. It's bizarre for a person who can remember an entire script. But I am absolutely shocking at remembering song lyrics and so my greatest fear is not remembering the dance steps. If I go the wrong way, it can become a train wreck, and that's the last thing either of us want.”

A fan of adrenaline sports, he’s hoping that his bones won’t let him down. “I'm the oldest in the competition but I've always been a relatively fit and active person all my life. I just think it's important - I don't want to turn into a crotchety old guy.”

His aim, in signing up for the only reality show he’s ever been interested in, is to be able to dance with his wife - a performer and trained dancer - when he gets back home. “I've never been able to take her dancing, like proper dancing, so I thought that would be a really nice thing to be able to do.”

Stefan says being away from the family for up to four months is already proving tough after just a few weeks. “I think this is the longest time I've been away from Gail, and certainly the kids, since 1997.”

But at least he’s got a new bunch of pals, in the form of all the other contestants. “Everybody’s really lovely. The only person I knew before was Ross King, but now they're all friends. And that's great. Three weeks and we're all buddies.”

And does he - at this early stage - already have his eye on the prize? "I think we all do,” he confesses, before laughing: “I'm the actor from the other side of the world who's got two left feet! Just to be here and doing it, to be part of it is quite phenomenal.”

It’s clear that he’s absolutely determined to give Strictly his very best shot. “We're doing it because the audience out there absolutely adores the show and we want to entertain them,” he explains, saying the plan is to take it week by week.

“If I get to three weeks, I'll be ecstatic. If I get to five weeks, I'll be over the moon. If I get to six weeks, I'll just be, ‘Oh my God, this is unbelievable.’” Strewth mate, good on ya!

- Strictly Come Dancing, Saturday, BBC1, 6.55pm

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and Threads .