Dianne Buswell was left heartbroken over the loss of her grandfather, who she revealed had been fully supportive of her during her time on Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell relocated to the UK in 2017 to join the beloved BBC programme’s roster of expert dance partners. However, this move has resulted in extended periods away from her loved ones in Western Australia.
The distance became particularly poignant following the heartbreaking loss of her grandfather, who had reached the remarkable age of 99.
“He only celebrated his 99th birthday two weeks ago,” Dianne shared with fellow Strictly Come Dancing champion Chris McCausland on their Winning Isn’t Everything podcast. “I don’t I don’t think he wanted to reach 100.”
She revealed that her grandpa, whom she affectionately called Buzz, took immense pride in her triumphant Strictly victory, explaining to Chris: “He called you the blind fellow, he couldn’t believe that I taught the blind fella how to dance.”
Dianne went on to describe how, following her Glitterball Trophy triumph, she returned to Australia to see her family and viewed recordings of several performances alongside her cherished grandfather.
She explained: “We watched some of the dances together. He got very emotional about it. He loved it. And before I left, he said to me, ‘You know, I’m pretty much done’.”
The entire family had anticipated Buzz would celebrate his centenary, yet he declined quite rapidly following his 99th birthday celebrations, reports Devon Live. “He just began to get really tired and they put like a little oxygen mask on him,” Dianne explained.
“He was still in his nursing home. So he didn’t go to hospital or anything, but he was getting weaker by the day. But he called me a couple of days ago and he was still quite conscious.
“And that was the last time, because my dad told me this morning that, he sadly passed away at about ten something this morning in Australian time. which is really sad, but he’s now with his wife, Mary, who passed away from Alzheimer’s.
“He loved her so, so much,” Diane added. “They were inseparable. He did everything for her. They used to go traveling together. She was a surf life saver, he was a bike rider. They were a very fit and very active couple. So I’m sure he would be up there with her now having a little dance.”
For Dianne, dancing runs deep within the family bloodline. Alongside her brother Andrew, she claimed the Western Australian Open Adult New Vogue championship titles in both 2008 and 2010, before securing her place on Australia’s So You Think You Can Dance – the local adaptation of Cat Deeley’s American programme.
Following her stint on the Australian edition of Strictly, known as Dancing with the Stars, Dianne made the pivotal decision to relocate to the UK, which ultimately led to her meeting current partner Joe Sugg during the 2018 series.