BBC Strictly Come Dancing star says 'I miss them' as they address pro exit

Strictly Come Dancing star Motsi Mabuse confessed there's one professional dancer she misses on the BBC show.

While speaking to the Loose Women panel on Friday afternoon, the judge highlighted her excitement as the live show kicks off this weekend.

The fresh batch of celebrities have now been put into their dancing partnerships for the series. However, there are a few faces absent this year from the professional line-up.

One of which includes Oti Mabuse, who made her exit from Strictly in 2022. Denise Welch asked: "Do you miss your sis on the show?"

She replied: "I do miss her because there's that silent connection when your sister is there. When she walked past or when she was sitting across.

"You have to imagine I came from Germany to a whole close-knit family and I'm the new one, so just seeing her I felt like, 'Ok, everything is going to be ok.'"

During their chat, Motsi told the Loose Women panel that she's still close to her sister as they message often. Wondering how they maintain that bond despite being separated through work commitments, Judi Love questioned: "How do you keep connected?"

Motsi replied: "We're very connected, I would say it doesn't matter which social media or telephone or whatever, we are on the phone with each other day and night!"

The Strictly judge shared they speak more often now that Oti is a mum, as they share advice with one another. As she is the older sibling, Motsi confessed she tries not to get too much into Oti's business now that she's a parent herself.

She added: "We're really, really connected. That's one thing my dad said to us. He said, 'Anything can happen on this planet but you have your sisters and you need to know that and stick to that'".

Although her sister might not be returning to the BBC show this year, fans were thrilled to learn Alja Škorjanec is coming back to the show.

The 34-year-old left the same year as Oti after first joining Strictly back in 2013. However, this year he'll be trying to raise the glitterball once again with Love Island star Tasha Ghouri.

Strictly Come Dancing's first live show airs on BBC One from 7pm on Saturday 21 September.