BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Dianne Buswell reveals Chris McCauslands words to her before epic first live dance

Dianne Buswell has shared what Chris McCausland told her ahead of their first live appearance on Strictly Come Dancing. The first week of the BBC One dance contest took place on Saturday (September 21), a week after the pre-recorded launch show.

The first live show of the 2024 series saw all 15 of the new Strictly couples perform together for the first time followed by the judges' comments and scores.

While there was no public vote or dance-off this weekend, a leaderboard was still revealed at the end of the night with JLS star JB Gill and Amy Dowden topping the scoring so far after their first performance.

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JB and Amy, who has returned to the ballroom after undergoing cancer treatment last year, were awarded 31 points by the judges for their waltz to When I Need You by singer Leo Sayer.

But 80s icon Toyah Willcox and dancer Neil Jones received the lowest score of the episode - 12 points - after they performed a tango to Ray Of Light by Madonna which was criticised by Craig Revel Horwood.

However, it was comedian Chris who really captured the hearts of viewers who was told he was "fabulous" after performing the cha cha to The Beatles classic 'Twist and Shout' with professional dancer Dianne Buswell which received 23 points from the judges.

On Sunday (September 22), as the dust settled on their impressive first performance, Dianne refelcted on the night as she posted a series of photos of the pair both in action in the ballroom and behind the scenes.

The Australian dancer started her post: "Wow what a night! I can truly say dancing last night with Chris was one of my most memorable dance experiences I have ever had!"

She went on to reveal the hilarious details of their conversation before going live on the BBC, as Dianne shared: "He said to me before we went out, 'Let’s not tell our selves we are going to be amazing because that’s just adding pressure'. He said, 'Let’s tell ourselves we’re just going to go and have fun!!' Followed by a, 'Di what the #%*% am I doing here'.

"Thank you for your trust Chris your an absolute LEGEND and I can not wait to share that floor with you as many times as we get the chance too @chrismccauslandcomedy @bbcstrictly."

And the messages of praise and support quickly came flooding in. @shirleighshirlz said: "Team Winning Isn't Everything might just win." @_lucystein commented: "You two were just amazing. Cannot even imagine how much hard work it would’ve taken from both of you. so commendable."

@courtneygroves25 wrote:" You two were incredible! you've done such an amazing job teaching Chris and I can't wait to see what you bring out next." @elliegx_ posted: "You were both insane. This partnership is everything and I’m so proud of you both. Chris is such an inspiration." @amy.johnson.xo added: "Absolutely incredible, can't wait to see the next one already."