Strictly winner Oti Mabuse reveals she didn’t speak to sister Motsi for three months to avoid cheat allegations – The Sun
OTI MABUSI is so tight with sister Motsi that her elder sibling broke down when she won Strictly last year.
But the dancer has revealed the pair did not speak throughout the entire series, Motsi’s first as judge, to avoid any accusations of cheating.
Not that Oti, 29, needed any extra help given how herself and partner Kelvin Fletcher lifted the Glitter Ball in epic style having racked up the highest scores in the competition thanks to a number of pulsating routines.
Speaking to The Sun, Oti explained just how little she saw of her older sister during the run, saying: “We were very professional and, to be fair to everyone else, it needed to be.
“I only really saw her on the show day on Saturdays when she was critiquing. Kelvin and I didn’t really speak to her, either, because we were so busy.”
And even before the last series started, the sisters barely talked shop.
Oti didn’t even know Motsi, 38, who has been judging on the German version of the show for almost a decade, was taking over from former judge Darcey Bussell until she was announced by the BBC last July.
She says: “I only found out on the day Motsi was announced, as production don’t tell me anything.
“They do what they do and they did what was best for the show. Other than that I have no control. I know how amazing Motsi is and to see her in that capacity I was proud of her.”
She adds: “It was nice for everyone to see her and for everyone to open up to her.
“She has been doing that role for ten years and it was nice to see her judging on a show that she has always wanted to do.”
Oti, who is now preparing to demonstrate her own judging skills on BBC1 show The Greatest Dancer on Saturday night, almost had to pull out of Strictly when her original partner for the 2019 series, Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing, 31, suffered a foot injury weeks before the first live show in September.
Her appearance was touch and go until bosses drafted in former Emmerdale actor Kelvin as a last-minute replacement.
And if he hadn’t been of similar height, popular Oti may have been forced to take a backseat.
Oti says: “It’s insane that I won with Kelvin — he wasn’t even supposed to be there.
“We met to check we were the right height and, in a few hours, we were dancing together.
“He didn’t know what the samba was and we were suddenly performing it. He didn’t have any training, like the other celebrities, and I was so in awe of that.”
The close bond the pair formed is evident in the way she talks about him with such high regard, saying: “He is like the male version of me. He has incredible tunnel vision.
“He is such a nice person. He is the nicest man I have ever met. He has a heart of gold.
“He is all about being nice and respectful, happy and enthusiastic with everything.
“He was really passionate about Strictly and dancing. It was an amazing trait to have.
“We used to joke about how he said my name with his northern accent. That was sweet.”
But she insists their affection for one another never threatened relationships with their partners — despite the fact Kelvin wanted their routines to look like “something was going on between them”.
Indeed, there weren’t even any awkwardly embarrassing hand slip-ups.
Oti, who has been married to Romanian dancer Marius Iepure, 37, for six years, says: “We never accidentally grabbed each other’s bits because the way I teach is very technical, so there was never a moment where my hands would go to the wrong place.
“When I teach I go into the role of the man, so they can copy me and do exactly what I said. I make them dance on their own, too, so they can be really independent.”
Oti on her FF boobs
OTI has been open about her battles dancing while having the biggest boobs on Strictly.
Her FF breasts mean the show’s costume designers have to make her special underwear – and now she wants to release her own lingerie range for women with bigger breasts.
She says: “I’d love to do sports bras for women who are athletic and active with a large chest.
"A good bra is essential when you’re on your feet all day, otherwise you can get terrible backache.
“For women who are plus size, it’s nice to have bras that are beautiful, not just functional.”
It has taken years for Oti to accept her curves.
She has previously said: “I remember fitting my first bra and I was crying. I was like, this looks so bad and I look so massive compared to the other girls.
“My mum has the same issue and was able to teach me how to deal with it.”
Due to her commitments on The Greatest Dancer, Oti isn’t able to join Kelvin on the upcoming Strictly tour, but she insists he is in good hands with Miami-born dancer Janette Manrara, 36.
Oti says: “Unlike everyone else, I went straight from the Strictly final into The Greatest Dancer. I’m sad that I’m not on the tour with the others.
“Kelvin will be dancing with Janette, but she is one of my best friends and we get on so well. It’s nice he gets to be on the tour with her.”
Oti is hoping to continue her winning streak on The Greatest Dancer having won last year’s first ever series with her contemporary dancer act Ellie Ferguson, 14.
She’ll be up against her fellow panellists Cheryl Tweedy, 36, ex-Glee actor Matthew Morrison, 41, and newcomer Todrick Hall, 34.
Oti insists her rivalry with Cheryl is nothing but friendly, which showed in the Strictly final when the Geordie was in the audience supporting her.
She explains: “Cheryl was so supportive of me and came to watch me in the final.
"It meant so much to me that she would sit there and clap, she was tearing up and I was tearing up. It really felt nice to have her there for me.
“I’ve loved keeping in touch with her in between seasons, she’s an awesome young lady. I’ve never met her son Bear, she’s always working and so am I. There are only so many hours in the day. I have been jumping from one show to another — I wish I could.
“Please tell Cheryl we want her on Strictly.”
But Oti is clearly ambitious and out to win the new series, hosted by Alesha Dixon, 41, and Jordan Banjo, 27, again.
She says: “I’m very competitive. I pick the acts I can invest my time and my energy into. I’m going to push them past their limit.
“Unlike any other dance show, we are mentors and we want to inspire them to be the best they can be. The rest is not in my hands, they have the power.
“The Greatest Dancer has showed me what being inspiring can do for a young person. It’s the same with Strictly, too — our job is to teach and inspire the celebs.”
As one of the BBC’s hottest talents, South African-born Oti has made the UK her home now, having moved here with husband Marius.
He was a backing dancer on Strictly’s 2017 series but is now concentrating on setting up a dance school.
She says: “I’m not trying to get him on Strictly any more, his passion is the dance school and training. He has other things going on instead of TV.
“Our goal is to have our own dance school and to work with youth and help people.
“London is my home now and, hopefully, we’re here to stay.”
– The Greatest Dancer is on BBC1 on Saturday night at 7pm.
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