Strictly Come Dancing star signals huge career change after seven years on the show
Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse has revealed her latest career move, three years after leaving the hit BBC show. Oti was a professional dancer on Strictly from 2015 until 2021, and during her time on the programme she lifted the Glitterball on two occasions - first with Kelvin Fletcher in 2019 and again in 2020 with Bill Bailey.
Oti, 34, has gone on to carve out a career in TV since leaving Strictly, having turned her attention to presenting rather than dancing. She's also welcomed her first child, a daughter, who was born towards the end of 2023. While Oti's had her hands full over recent months, she's still found time to pen her very first novel.
The professional dancer took to Instagram on Friday, 11 October to announce the exciting news, revealing her debut novel will be landing on shelves in 2025. She teased the book as "spicy", revealing it is now available to pre order.
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"I’m so excited to finally be able to share the news that I have a novel coming out! This has been a dream of mine! I adore reading fiction romance novels and am thrilled that I’ve been given the opportunity to write my own!! It’s called ‘Slow Burn’ and it’s out on the 11th September 2025. It’s going to be spicy, romantic and full of dance. It’s available to pre-order now so head to the link in my bio to get your copy," Oti told her followers.
The star's fans and friends flocked to congratulate her on the exciting news. Strictly star Vito Coppola penned: "Oh Yessss I want to read it. This is very exciting," while Dianne Buswell said: "Amazing".
"Wow! That’s brilliant Oti! Can’t wait to read it!" another follower said. Somebody else commented: "Epic! Can’t wait to get stuck into this," and another added: "Yesss take our coins Can’t wait to read this!"
Oti rose to fame on Strictly Come Dancing as well as its German equivalent, Let's Dance. After exiting the show, she landed the role of Dance Captain on The Greatest Dancer before becoming a panellist on The Masked Dancer. She is a judge on ITV's Dancing on Ice, having taken on the role in 2022.
Away from dancing and TV, Oti is married to Romanian dancer Marius Lepure, who she met in Germany. The couple married in 2014 and went on to welcome their first child in December 2023. Oti has documented her journey as a first time mum on social media, candidly revealing the ups and downs of being a parent.
