Dianne Buswell

Dianne Claire Buswell is an Australian professional dancer who 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 with Joe Sugg and in 2023 with Bobby Brazier, before winning the contest with Chris McCausland in 2024, for which she also won a British Academy Television Award for [P&O Cruises Memorable Moment|BAFTA award] in 2025.

Career

Buswell is a former Australian Open champion and four-time Amateur Australian Open finalist. She and her brother Andrew Buswell were Western Australian Open Adult New Vogue champions for 2008 and 2010. She also appeared on So [You Think You Can Dance Australia].
Buswell turned professional at the age of 21 when she joined the touring dance company Burn the Floor in January 2011.

''Dancing with the Stars''

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.

Season	Partner	Place
15	Jude Bolton	7th

Season 15

Celebrity partner: Jude Bolton
;Notes

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Buswell moved to the United Kingdom, where she joined the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing – the original version of Dancing with the Stars – in 2017. Her celebrity partner for the 2017 series was the Reverend Richard Coles. They were the second couple eliminated in the series, losing the dance-off to Simon Rimmer and Karen Hauer in a unanimous decision. Buswell was paired with television presenter Tim Vincent for the 2017 Children in Need special.
For the sixteenth series of the show in 2018, she was partnered with YouTuber Joe Sugg. They were runners-up, alongside Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice and Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev, behind Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton. In early 2019, the couple performed in the Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour, winning 28 of the 29 shows.
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.
For series 18 in 2020, she was partnered with The Wanted singer, Max George. They were the third couple to be eliminated, after losing a dance-off to Maisie Smith and Gorka Marquez.
Buswell returned for series 19 in 2021, partnered with Robert Webb, a comedian, actor and writer. Webb withdrew from the competition after three weeks, due to ill health.
In 2022, she was paired with radio and television presenter Tyler West for series 20. They were the eighth couple to be eliminated after losing a dance-off to Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu.
In 2023, she was paired with actor and model Bobby Brazier for series 21. They finished as runners-up, alongside Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin, behind series champions Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola.
In 2024, she was paired with comedian Chris McCausland for series 22. They won the series, with Buswell winning for the first time and McCausland becoming the first blind contestant to win. In May 2025, the couple's waltz – which featured a passage of McCausland walking unaided and unsighted – won the British Academy Television Award for Memorable Moment at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards.
For the series 23 in 2025, she was partnered with Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis and announced she would compete despite her pregnancy, which was announced on 14 September. It was reported that there was a chance she could pull out of the competition and be replaced by one of the other professional dancers. However, the couple finished in 12th place after Dennis tore his calf muscle, forcing them to withdraw from the competition after four weeks.

Series	Partner	Place	Average Score
15	Reverend Richard Coles	14th	16.0
16	Joe Sugg	2nd	32.8
17	Dev Griffin	13th	30.0
18	Max George	9th	27.3
19	Robert Webb	13th	24.0
20	Tyler West	8th	32.2
21	Bobby Brazier	2nd	33.8
22	Chris McCausland	1st	32.6
23	Stefan Dennis	12th	21.7

Colour key:
Highest and lowest scoring per dance

Dance	Partner	Highest	Partner	Lowest
American Smooth	Chris McCausland	37	Reverend Richard Coles	17
Argentine Tango	Joe Sugg Bobby Brazier	30
Cha-Cha-Cha	Tyler West	35	Reverend Richard Coles Stefan Dennis	17
Charleston	Joe Sugg Tyler West	38	Stefan Dennis	26
Couple's Choice	Bobby Brazier	39	Max George	32
Foxtrot	Joe Sugg	35	Stefan Dennis	22
Jive	Bobby Brazier	35	Joe Sugg Dev Griffin Max George	27
Paso Doble	Joe Sugg	39	Reverend Richard Coles	14
Quickstep	Joe Sugg Bobby Brazier	38	Robert Webb	25
Rumba
Salsa	Joe Sugg	36	Chris McCausland	30
Samba	Bobby Brazier	39	Chris McCausland	26
Showdance	Joe Sugg Bobby Brazier	39	Chris McCausland	38
Tango	Tyler West	32	Max George	23
Viennese Waltz	Chris McCausland	36	Joe Sugg Tyler West	29
Waltz	Chris McCausland	40	Joe Sugg	29

Color key:

number indicates when Dianne and her partner were at the top of the leaderboard.
number indicates when Dianne and her partner were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Series 15

Celebrity partner: Richard Coles
;Notes

Series 16

Celebrity partner: Joe Sugg
;Notes

Series 17

Celebrity partner: Dev Griffin
;Notes

Series 18

Celebrity partner: Max George
;Notes

Series 19

Celebrity partner: Robert Webb
;Notes

Series 20

Celebrity partner: Tyler West
;Notes

Series 21

Celebrity partner: Bobby Brazier
;Notes

Series 22

Celebrity partner: Chris McCausland
;Notes

Series 23

Celebrity partner: Stefan Dennis
;Notes

Christmas Specials

Celebrity partners: Robbie Savage, Joe Sugg, Fred Sirieix
;Notes

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.
Before becoming a professional dancer, Buswell was a hairdresser, and in 2021, she had a podcast with BBC Sounds called 'Di's Salon', in which she chatted to guests as they looked back at the hairstyles they have had over the years.
In 2022, Buswell participated in the reality series Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof on BBC One.
In January 2025, Buswell and her Strictly partner Chris McCausland began a podcast called Winning Isn't Everything.
In January 2026, Buswell and Joe Sugg announced they where producing and co-hosting a TV show together titled Raiders of the Lost Crafts for Sky History, where they travel around the UK trying traditional crafts. The pairs instagram post stated how filming was ongoing and no release date was announced.

Filmography

Television

Stage

Podcast

Personal life

Buswell was born in Bunbury, Western Australia. She began dancing at age 5, and went on to compete from an early age in State, National and International Ballroom and Latin events.
Buswell dated soap actor Anthony Quinlan from late 2017 to October 2018.
In late 2018, Buswell began dating Joe Sugg, her celebrity partner from Strictly Come Dancing. The couple confirmed that they were living together in August 2019. In February 2021, they revealed that they had bought their first house together. In September 2025, Buswell and Sugg announced that they were expecting their first child, a son.