Oti Mabuse is no stranger to success, but the South African-born professional dancer and TV star insists that her biggest lessons in life have come from her setbacks.
Reflecting on ITV’s decision to cancel her short-lived Saturday morning breakfast show, Oti Mabuse candidly admitted that the experience was a turning point for her.
Oti Mabuse’s breakfast show was cancelled in ITV shake-up
“Even getting a new show [in 2023] and then having my show cancelled, those were huge lessons for me,” the dancer told The Times.
“The biggest lessons you get are from the failures. The most successful people are the ones who have failed over and over and over again and not given up.”
Oti co-hosted her weekend breakfast show alongside former Love Island star Laura Whitmore.
However, it was cut during a schedule shake-up later that year.
While the cancellation was a disappointment, Oti has embraced the experience as part of her growth.
“I’ve gone through lows”
At 34, the former Strictly star is reflecting on the pressures of constant success and the challenges that accompany it.
Having left South Africa in 2015 to pursue her career in Europe, she quickly built an impressive résumé.
She became an eight-time South African dance champion, earned a German national title, and joined Strictly Come Dancing in its 13th series.
Her back-to-back wins with Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey cemented her status as one of the show’s standout professionals.
However, Oti says that years of nonstop work meant she missed out on simply living life.
In an interview, the star revealed that she didn’t go to her first concert until she was 31, as she was “always in the studio”.
The setbacks, including her ITV show’s cancellation, helped her reevaluate her priorities.
“When you win all the time, you learn nothing. I had to live life a little bit more,” Oti mused.
“And I think what I’ve been able to do, over the last two or three years, is go through lows. I’m probably going to go through a lot more lows. But the lessons I’ve learned have been invaluable.”
The past few years have also been transformative for the Dancing on Ice judge.
After becoming a mother, she experienced health challenges, including gestational diabetes, which she has since reversed through lifestyle changes.
These experiences, along with her time in the jungle for I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, where she finished fourth, have given her a new perspective.
“I do get down. A lot actually,” she admitted.
“Sometimes when you see someone and they’re happy, you just assume everything is all right. But I get a lot of ‘not yet,’ ‘not now,’ or ‘you’re not the right person.’ I try my hardest to either cry it out or talk to my friends.”
Despite the lows, Oti’s resilience and willingness to embrace life’s challenges have only strengthened her.
Read more: Dancing On Ice judge Oti Mabuse branded ‘mean’ as Holly Willoughby asks her to explain herself
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