What it’s like being a dance pro while pregnant

Dianne Buswell is set to make Strictly history on Saturday as the first professional dancer to compete on the live show while pregnant.

Strictly Come Dancing returned to BBC One last weekend with a launch show that saw the Australian paired up with her compatriot, Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis.

It also saw her save one last curtain-raising dance for Chris McCausland, the blind Scouse comedian who she waltzed to victory with in last year’s contest – winning a Bafta in the process.

Buswell recently revealed she has a baby boy on the way, due next year, with her real life partner, YouTuber and former Strictly contestant Joe Suggs.

Speaking on her and McCausland’s podcast, Winning Isn’t Everything, she said her doctor had advised that because she had been dancing since she was five years old, she shouldn’t stop now.

“I’m still doing everything I did before,” she said. “Obviously with lifts there’s going to be a bit more caution. But my doctor has said everything is normal.”

She continued: “He said, basically, if you’ve done it before, in terms of being a dancer and you’ve done this, done that, then crack on and keep doing what you’re doing.”

Strictly producers have a back-up plan in place if needed, but a spokesman for the programme tells us they do that every year as a matter of course.

In previous years, for example, dancing pros Kevin Clifton and Lauren Oakley have stepped in to cover for Neil Jones and Amy Dowden respectively.

US dancer and choreographer Janette Manrara – a Strictly pro from 2012 to 2020 -says she “loved” dancing while pregnant.

Manrara found out she was expecting while performing in a show called A Christmas to Remember in 2022, alongside her husband and current Strictly pro Aljaž Škorjanec.

“I carried on dancing, and I just actually felt really empowered,” she tells us. “I really enjoyed knowing that I was pregnant and that our baby, Lyra, was there with us on stage performing.”

Viewers may recall Manrara’s time on Strictly – there was the iconic salsa with EastEnders star Jake Wood in 2014, a partnership with Paralympian Will Bayley in 2019 and then TV personality HRVY, who she reached the final with, in 2020.

She now co-hosts BBC Two’s spin-off show, Strictly – It Takes Two, alongside former contestant Fleur East, a singer and presenter.

Manrara says she went on to host a Strictly live tour while pregnant and kept going to the gym, on her doctor’s advice, doing weight training until six months into her pregnancy, when she says she had to slow down.

Her advice for Buswell is to enjoy this “special time” doing “something that you love so much, knowing that you’ve got your little person there with you all the time”.

“Some days might be better than others, so just take them as they come and ride the waves as they flow.”

Ballet dancer Lucy Balfour says she experienced great “joy” performing the contemporary pieces Ghost Dances while pregnant with her first child.

“It’s about adapting, trusting and working with – and listening to – your changing body,” she says.

“I noticed throughout the pregnancy that there were some moves that became more challenging so intuitively I knew that I needed to adapt.

Balfour, who also teaches pre and postnatal classes for the Dance Mama group, says she believes her “positive endorphins” while performing spread to her children and “made them have a love for music and dance”.

According to the NHS website, the more active and fit you are during pregnancy “the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight gain”.

“It will also help you to cope with labour,” the advice says.

It also suggests pregnant women should keep up their normal daily physical exercise, citing examples such as dancing, running, yoga or even simply “walking to the shops and back” for as long as feels “comfortable.”

“Exercise is not dangerous for your baby,” the guidance adds, noting there is evidence that active women are “less likely” to experience problems in later pregnancy and labour.

Tennis champion Serena Williams was reportedly eight weeks pregnant when she won the Australian Open in 2017.

And inspired by Paula Radcliffe, former Team GB runner Sophie Carter ran a marathon when she was 31 weeks pregnant – saying it gave her “peace of mind.”

Meanwhile, Charlton Athletic footballer Carla Humphrey recently posted videos on social media of herself speedily dribbling in training while 34 weeks along.

Physio Ilana Marismari from Maternally Fit – an organisation that helps expectant mothers across London to “stay strong, active, and confident throughout pregnancy and beyond” – says dancing should be great for both Buswell and her baby.

“Some studies suggest that mums with better cardiovascular exercise during pregnancy can also transfer some of that health to the babies as well,” she says.

As well as the physical benefits, Marismari says exercising can potentially also “improve the neurological development of the baby”.

But she also says competing in this year’s contest will mean Buswell has to take some precautions – including avoiding any dance moves that could cause “aggressive or impactful trauma”.

“She would be really mindful about those more risky lifts and flips and things because of the risk of injury if it went wrong,” Marismari says.

“And then just physiologically, she is obviously going to be growing from her abdomen. So therefore being able to really easily achieve those hold positions that they need for the waltz and the foxtrot – that is going to put some strain on her from having to hold herself differently.”

On the whole, though, Marismari says she thinks it’s brilliant that “household names” like Strictly stars can help to update perceptions around what is possible during pregnancy.

“If you can start changing the attitudes of those who weren’t fortunate enough to have the research available to them when they were pregnant, then it’s just about that multi-generational mind shift in terms of what is safe during pregnancy.”

Pelvic floor muscle exercises are a vital part of exercise classes to help improve the quality of life of the woman after giving birth, the physio adds.

Buswell, 36, has reached the Strictly final three times – with McCausland last year, Bobby Brazier the year before and her partner Sugg in 2018. They have been together ever since.

Earlier this week, she was reported to have hit back at an online troll for branding her participation in this year’s Strictly as “not appropriate”.

“I can’t believe that in 2025 things like this are still being said,” Buswell posted on Instagram, alongside a screenshot of the comment.

In a happier social media post earlier this month, Buswell and Sugg shared a video of them painting a picture of three stick figures to announce they’re expecting a little lad in 2026.

“What I want to achieve here is to actually show that the woman’s body is absolutely incredible,” Buswell said alongside Sugg in a vlog he shared following their baby announcement.

“Strictly knew a while ago, and they’ve been so supportive of my decision, and obviously looking after me as well. I’m very well looked after on Strictly and loved, very, very loved.”