But now BBC bosses fear Oti Mabuse will tell all about the scandal-ridden show when she appears on ITV‘s I’m A Celeb when it launches on Sunday.
Strictly was plunged into chaos when Amanda Abbington quit last year, before claiming her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her – later leaving the show
She was one of Strictly Come Dancing’s most-loved stars, appearing on the show for six years and lifting the glitterball trophy twice.
But now BBC bosses fear Oti Mabuse will tell all about the scandal-ridden show when she appears on ITV’s I’m A Celeb when it launches on Sunday.
Strictly was plunged into chaos when Amanda Abbington quit last year, before claiming her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her – later leaving the show.
Soon after it emerged Graziano Di Prima had been sacked for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott.
Then, an unnamed female Strictly dancer was brought into the scandal after it was reported they screamed in their male partner’s face and berated him off-camera.
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BBC bosses fear Strictly star Oti Mabuse, 34, will spill scandal-ridden show’s secrets in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity when she enters the jungle next week
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Oti was one of Strictly Come Dancing’s most-loved stars, appearing on the show for six years and lifting the glitterball trophy twice (pictured with Kelvin Fletcher)
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The show was plunged into chaos when Amanda Abbington quit Strictly last year, before claiming her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her – later leaving the show
A Strictly source said: ‘Oti was such a fixture on Strictly and her sister Motsi is still very much still part of the show.
‘After the year the show has had, Oti is undoubtedly going to be asked by curious campmates around the fire what she thinks of the furore surrounding Strictly.
‘She was there for years, and you never know what she is going to say. Everyone will be tuning in and hoping she doesn’t say anything that will cause further trouble for the competition but the bosses are worried.’
The 34-year-old flew into Australia on Tuesday to join the celebrity cast including football WAG Coleen Rooney, reality star Maura Higgins, and former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos, before they head into the jungle.
Oti, who left Strictly in 2020, shared the show’s set with the likes of ex-professional Graziano and Giovanni.
The BBC cleared Giovanni of physically abusive behaviour towards Amanda, while upholding some of her complaints the Corporation.
After six months of investigating the Sherlock actress’ claims after she previously branded the dancer ‘abusive, cruel and mean’, they have finally found he was not physically abusive, but upheld some claims of verbal bullying and harassment and did issue an apology to Amanda.
Out of 17 complaints, they upheld six, some of which are for Giovanni using swear words. The report said that his language could be ‘belittling.’
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The 34-year-old flew into Australia on Tuesday to join the celeb cast before they head into the jungle next week
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Oti was casually-clad in an orange tracksuit and appeared in high spirits
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Soon after it emerged Graziano Di Prima had been sacked for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott
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Amanda went on to claim that she has faced a number of violent threats from both Strictly fans and ‘Giovanni fans’ who have asked her ‘how can you destroy something like Strictly’
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During her time on Strictly, Oti also crossed paths with former dancer Brendan Cole, dubbed the ‘scary one’ (Brendan pictured with Fiona Phillips)
During her time on Strictly, Oti also crossed paths with former dancer Brendan Cole, dubbed the ‘scary one’, footage has emerged of him being unpleasant to former dance partners Fiona Phillips and Claire King on previous series.
Fiona previously said she has always hated getting on the dancefloor and went as far as insisting that she ‘should never have done’ the BBC dance contest back in 2005.
Brendan was famously axed from the show back in 2018 amid claims he was ‘difficult to work with’.
South African Oti, who first began on Strictly in 2015, won the BBC competition twice with comedian Bill Bailey and Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher.
After leaving Strictly, she replaced John Barrowman as a judge on ITV’s Dancing on Ice in 2022.
Oti and her husband Marius Lepure, 41, became parents in November 2023 after their newborn was born prematurely with an infection and spent six weeks in intensive care.
Arriving Down Under, the Strictly star said: ‘I’m buzzing to be here. I’m sure the Jungle will be relaxing, every environment for me is relaxing, I’m from South Africa it we hang out with the spiders.’
Oti leaves behind her one-year-old daughter and said the goodbye was ’emotional but good’.
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South African Oti, who first began on Strictly in 2015, won the BBC competition twice with comedian Bill Bailey
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Oti’s dance partner Kelvin thanked her ‘for the most amazing experience of my life’
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Oti and her husband Marius Lepure, 41, became parents in November 2023. Oti leaves behind her one-year-old daughter and said the goodbye was ’emotional but good’
She added: ‘I’m excited to be here and that’s the most important thing. I’ve always wanted to be and see what’s around.’
As the lineup was unveiled, Oti, said she is looking forward to leaning into her adventurous side again.
She said ‘Now I have had my baby daughter, I want to get back to the adventurous and fun Oti. I feel ready for a change and doing something completely different. I will have no make-up, concealer, lashes – it’s going to be nice to be laid back.’
Oti joked that she is also keen to catch up on the year’s worth of sleep she has lost and will also be teaching her campmates some dance moves.
It comes as extreme weather warnings and freak storms are causing chaos on the set of this year’s I’m A Celebrity’ as show insiders reveal concerns that the relentless rain will ‘dampen and ultimately ruin’ the series.
Celebrities are set to be battered by the ongoing thunderstorms and wet weather that is ravaging Australia’s Gold Coast.
A source close to the show said: ‘If the celebrities were in there right now, they would be drowning.
‘That jungle camp cannot cope with this level of rain, everyone keeps checking the weather and it’s really not looking good for this series.
‘And the thing is, when it rains like this it’s not fun for anyone involved. It dampens the mood and ultimately ruins the show.’
The ten celebrities are due to film challenges this week before they all enter the Jungle but thunderstorms and rain are forecast for the entire week in Coolangatta.
Wet weather conditions are so awful that the flight carrying McFly’s Danny Jones and the reigning King of the Jungle, Sam Thompson, was forced to circle Brisbane Airport for an hour due to the runway being flooded.
Hosted by Ant and Dec, I’m a Celebrity returns to ITV on November 17.
I’M A CELEBRITY 2024: MEET THE ALL STAR LINE UP
OTI MABUSE
Oti Mabuse has already two Strictly glitterballs under her belt
AGE: 34
OCCUPATION: Professional dancer
FAMOUS FOR: Oti is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2019 and 2020.
DANNY JONES
Danny Jones is one of the bookies’ favourites to win this year’s I’m A Celeb
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: McFly singer
FAMOUS FOR: Danny is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly.
He is also a coach on The Voice UK.
BARRY MCGUIGAN
Former boxer Barry McGuigan is heading into the jungle
AGE: 63
OCCUPATION: Retired professional boxer
FAMOUS FOR: Barry was nicknamed The Clones Cyclone and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 to 1986.
GK BARRY
GK Barry is a TikTok star who recently joined the ITV family on Loose Women
AGE: 25
OCCUPATION: TikTok star
FAMOUS FOR: Grace is known for her comedic commentary on culture, lifestyle, and fashion. She has over 3.6 million followers and recently joined the Loose Women panel.
DEAN MCCULLOUGH
ITV bosses are hoping Dean McCullough will ruffle feathers in the camp
AGE: 32
OCCUPATION: Radio 1 DJ
FAMOUS FOR: Radio 1 DJ Dean has been signed by I’m A Celeb bosses, in the hope that he will ruffle feathers with his outspoken views.
Earlier this year it was announced Dean would be taking over the BBC Radio 1 Early Breakfast Show, after previously fronting the afternoon slot.
JANE MOORE
Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Journalist
FAMOUS FOR: Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women between 1999 and 2002.
She returned as a regular panellist from 2013 onwards.
Jane takes on the challenge following her high-profile split from husband of 20 years, Showbiz agent, Gary Farrow.
MELVIN ODOOM
Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021
AGE: 44
OCCUPATION: DJ and TV presenter
FAMOUS FOR: His work on radio. Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021, but turned down the offer at the last minute.
He also had a primetime stint on Strictly back in 2016.
COLEEN ROONEY
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: WAG
FAMOUS FOR: Wagatha Christie case against arch rival Rebekah Vardy.
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history, exceeding Nigel Farage’s £1.5million from last year.
ALAN HALSALL
Alan Halsall is best known for his role as Tyrone Dobbs on Coronation Street
AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Actor
FAMOUS FOR: Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall was forced to withdraw from I’m A Celeb last year, after undergoing ACL Reconstruction surgery.
Bosses have now convinced the actor to sign up again, and no doubt he will draw in a huge fanbase thanks to his long-running role as Tyrone Dobbs on the soap.
TULISA
Tulisa is making her career comeback after reuniting with N-Dubz last year
AGE: 36
OCCUPATION: Singer and former X Factor judge
FAMOUS FOR: Tulisa reunited with N-Dubz last year for a tour after first finding fame with the band in 2007.
In 2011, she became a judge on The X Factor and went on to launch her debut solo album, The Female Boss.
She released her fourth album with N-Dubz last year.
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