New Dancing With The Stars judge Oti Mabuse: 'After my brother died, my mom started a dance school because she wanted us to have a safe place after school'

"Having retired as a pro dancer, become a mother and moved into broadcasting, Oti Mabuse was feeling content with life when the call from 'Dancing With The Stars Ireland' came. Now as the hit show's new head judge, she shares how she first found dance after a family tragedy, and the fiery ambition that's driven her to excel ever since"

""I wanted to slow down, I wanted to think what can I do past the age of 46. When you get to that age, you're not the same 24-year-old Oti who's still trying to push Danny Mac across the floor," she says, referring to the record-breaking dance on Strictly Come Dancing which became the first samba to score a perfect 40. Having joined the BBC juggernaut as a pro dancer in 2015, she won the show in 2019 and 2020, before leaving in 2021."

Oti Mabuse retired from professional dancing, became a mother, and moved into broadcasting before accepting the head-judge role on Dancing With The Stars Ireland. She felt "really content" after the birth of her daughter and the rise of her broadcasting career. She and her husband, dance partner Marius Lepure, considered slowing down as she contemplated life beyond 46. She reflected that at that age she is no longer the 24-year-old pushing partners across the floor. She cited the record-breaking Strictly samba with Danny Mac, which earned the first perfect 40, and noted she joined the BBC as a pro in 2015, won in 2019 and 2020, and left in 2021. She first found dance after a family tragedy, and a fierce ambition has driven her success.

Read at Independent