Oti and Motsi Mabuse looking serious
News

Oti Mabuse didn’t speak to sister Motsi for weeks during Strictly Come Dancing run

Awkward...

| Updated:

Oti Mabuse once revealed she didn’t speak to sister Motsi – who is on Celeb Bake Off tonight (Sunday, June 2) – for *weeks* during their run on Strictly Come Dancing.

As fans will remember, Oti shot to fame when she first joined the glitzy BBC One show in 2015. Four years later, her sister Motsi followed suit and bagged a role on the programme.

But it turns out during their time on Strictly together, the pair practically ignored one another – and they had a good reason for it.

Oti and Motsi on DNA Journey
The two sisters appeared on Strictly at the same time (Credit: ITV)

Oti Mabuse ‘didn’t speak’ to sister Motsi

When Motsi joined the show as a judge in 2019, it placed the sisters in an awkward position. Oti, who has won the show both in 2019 with Kelvin Fletcher and again in 2020 with Bill Bailey, was going to be critiqued by her sister. So in order to avoid any favouritism accusations, the two agreed to not talk to each other and borderline ignore one another.

In an interview with The Sun back in 2020, Oti said: “We were very professional and, to be fair to everyone else, it needed to be.

“I only really saw her on the show day on Saturdays when she was critiquing. Kelvin and I didn’t really speak to her, either, because we were so busy.”

Oti and Motsi

Oti also revealed she didn’t even know Motsi had nabbed a seat on the judges’ table until it was officially announced by the BBC – the same time everybody else found out.

She explained: “I only found out on the day Motsi was announced, as production don’t tell me anything. They do what they do and they did what was best for the show. Other than that I have no control. I know how amazing Motsi is and to see her in that capacity, I was proud of her.”

Oti Mabuse jumping in front of a glittery backdrop
Oti was a regular on Strictly Come Dancing (Credit: BBC)

Why did Oti Mabuse quit Strictly?

In 2022, Oti announced she had quit Strictly Come Dancing after seven years. Motsi has remained in the show, and will be back for this year’s brand new series.

Talking about her decision to leave the show, Oti admitted she “cried for hours” but felt it was the “right time”. She told the You magazine: “I lived my best life on that show and it gave me the career I have now, but you need to know when it’s the right time to get off that wave and try new things.

“I didn’t want to hold on and get to the point where I wasn’t happy any more. I left when I was at the peak, in terms of working on the show.”

Read more: Oti Mabuse addresses baby number two as sister Motsi urges: ‘Just do it and you’re done!’

Celebrity Bake Off airs tonight (Sunday, June 2) at 7pm on Channel 4. 

YouTube video player

So what do you think of this story? You can leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Joey Crutchley
Freelance Writer