BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Dianne Buswell 'stressed' by Chris McCausland's last-minute request

Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Dianne Buswell has confessed that the comedian left her 'stressed' as he made a last minute request for his routine with her

Dianne Buswell, the Strictly Come Dancing professional, has shared a last-minute request made by her partner Chris McCausland just before their live performance on the popular BBC One dance show. The comedian had another successful weekend in the 2024 series of the competition, performing his second routine alongside the other 14 competing couples.

On Saturday night's show (September 28), the scores from the first week were combined with the new scores to create an updated leaderboard. This was also the first time viewers could vote for their favourite pairs before the season's first dance-off and elimination, which saw Toyah and Neil being the first couple to leave.

Chris, who is the first blind contestant on Strictly, received a standing ovation for his foxtrot performance on Saturday night (September 28). He and Dianne scored 29 points after they performed a bench work routine to 'Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy' by The Tams.

Head judge Shirley Ballas gave him a standing ovation and commended him as "an example to every celebrity upstairs when it comes to footwork". Fellow judge Motsi Mabuse commented that the slow foxtrot is one of the most challenging dances but felt he made it look "so easy", while Anton Du Beke simply said: "You are just wonderful".

Dianne Buswell has opened up about a moment that left her feeling 'stressed' when her dance partner Chris made a last-minute request to alter their routine just as they were about to perform live on Strictly Come Dancing. In their daily video series, which Dianne has humorously titled 'CHRIS'S DIAnneRIES', the pair discussed their recent performance and their success in reaching week three of Strictly 2024, reports the Manchester Evening News.

During the conversation, Dianne recounted to Chris, "Do you realise that you, before we went on, literally..." to which Chris interjected with a joke, "Oh, I didn't s**t my pants did I? " Dianne confirmed he hadn't but teased she wasn't entirely sure, then explained that Chris had asked her to change the opening of their second-ever ballroom routine moments before going live. Laughing, she said, "What you did, probably a minute before we went on, you asked me to change the choreography at the beginning," Chris, initially puzzled, then recalled the moment, saying, "Did I? " He then realised which part he had questioned and added, "I was thinking about it. I was working through it in my head... I was like, 'That makes no sense! '".

Dianne asked Chris, "Do you know how much that stressed me? " to which he responded, "It's never too late to improve yourself though. It's never too late."

Dianne interjected, "Never do that to me again," before Chris retorted, "That kind of attitude, 'It is what it is and that's how it's staying', that gets you nowhere. Does it? That's why you've never won this Glitterball, Dianne. Because you're too stuck in your ways and you fear change."

Following the results show, which is filmed directly after the main show at Elstree Studios on a Saturday evening, Dianne took to Instagram to praise Chris. She posted pictures of them in the ballroom with the caption: "What a LEGEND full stop. @chrismccauslandcomedy."

On her Instagram Story, she shared a video of the moment she and Chris were confirmed for week three, writing: "Thank you so much for voting for us and for all your kind comments. We are thrilled to be dancing another week! " Alongside a tearful emoji, she added: "However, Chris could not get his head around why we would celebrate going through when somebody had to leave. Lots of love to Tom and Nadia [Bychkova]."