Strictly's Dianne Buswell defends Shirley Ballas over name gaffe

She called her Dianna

Author: Alex RossPublished 7th Nov 2022
Last updated 7th Nov 2022

Strictly Come Dancing veteran Dianne Buswell gave yet another stunning performance alongside Tyler West during Saturday night's show, but it was comments from head judge Shirley Ballas which sent Twitter into overdrive.

Whilst giving feedback to Tyler and Dianne following their Viennese Waltz to 'I’ve Been Loving You Too Long', Shirley called the Australian dancer Dianna, instead of Dianne.

After Shirley received a number of cruel messages about her mistake on social media, Dianne has now taken to social media to defend her colleague.

She wrote: 'Firstly thank you guys so much for all the support on our dance last night. It was a tough week but I am forever in awe of the hard work and dedication Tyler brings every single week. Another point I want to address is I have seen a lot of hateful comments aimed at Shirley for simply adding an a to the end of my name which doesn't offend me, but what does make me upset is seeing someone being bullied online.

'We are all human and doing the best we can. Let's all please be kind to one another and not put each other down. Once again thank you for all your positive messages it really does mean a lot to us all'. (sic)

Other Strictly stars were quick to respond to Dianne's message, with host Claudia Winkleman adding: '❤️❤️❤️'.

Katya Jones commented: 'Be kind', with Gorka Márquez writing: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'.

Despite gaining their lowest score since Week Two, Tyler and Dianne made it through to next week following their Viennese Waltz. The pair performed to Seal song 'I’ve Been Loving You Too Long', gaining a score of 29/40.

Watch Tyler and Dianne's Week 7 performance below:

Meanwhile it was Paralympian Ellie Simmonds OBE who lost her place in the competition, following a tense dance-off with CBBC presenter Molly Rainford.

Fans have since called for the format of the show to change, with many angry viewers not happy with this weekend's results.

Check out all of the past winners of Strictly Come Dancing below:

Series 1 – Natasha Kaplinsky

Natasha was our first EVER Strictly winner. The television presenter graced our screens in 2004 alongside her dancing partner Brendan Cole.


She won the show dancing the Quickstep (36 points), the Samba (31 points) and the Showdance (35 points).


Natasha has since returned to presenting and you can see her on ITV news.

Series 2 – Jill Halfpenny

Actress Jill won series two with her dancing partner Darren Bennett.


She took the crown from Natasha dancing the Foxtrot (34 points) and the Jive (40 points).


The actress who has previously starred in EastEnders, Coronation Street and Waterloo Road.

Series 3 – Darren Gough

In 2005 Darren became the first man to win Strictly.

He won the show dancing the Foxtrot (36 points) and the Paso Doble (36 points) alongside his partner Lilia Kopylova.


Darren and Lilia also won the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special in 2005.


He retired from cricket in 2008.

Series 4 - Mark Ramprakash

Mark won the BBC show back in 2006.

With his professional partner Karen Hardy they won the show dancing the Tango (34 points), the Salsa (40 points) and the Samba (36 points).

Series 5 – Alesha Dixon

Alesha Dixon won series five of the show in 2007.

The singer won the BBC show dancing the Waltz (39 points), the Cha Cha Cha (38 points) and the Jive (35 points) alongside her partner Matthew Cutler.

Alesha later became a judge on the show during series seven, eight and nine.


She has continued making music and you can seee her on ITV's Britain's Got Talent as a judge.

Series 6 – Tom Chambers

Back in 2008, viewers saw Tom win the glitterball trophy.

Alongside his partner Camilla Dallerup he won the show dancing the Foxtrot (35 points) and the Salsa (38 points).

Since winning the show, Tom has continued acting.

Series 7 – Chris Hollins

The news presenter won the show in 2009 during the seventh series.

Alongside his partner Ola Jordan, Chris won the show dancing the Foxtrot (46 points), the Charleston (50 points), the Lindy Hop (44 points) and the Showdance (46 points).

Chris has continued presenting and recently co-presented the TV show, Secret Britain.

Series 8 – Kara Tointon

The former EastEnders actress won series eight of Strictly in 2008.

Kara won the show dancing the Rumba (39 points), the Showdance (36 points), the Waltz (38 points) and the American Smooth (37 points) with her partner Artem Chigvintsev.

Kara has continued acting and has since starred in the movie Let's Be Evil.

Series 9 – Harry Judd

The McFly drummer won series ten of the BBC show in 2012 with his partner Aliona Vilani.

He danced the Quickstep (40 points), the Showdance (37 points), American Smooth (39 points) and the Tango (40 points) in the final.

Harry has since returned to the band McFly and is now a dad of two with his wife Izzy.

Series 10 – Louis Smith

The Olympic gymnast won the show in 2012.

Louis won the show with his partner Flavia Cacace and in the final they danced the Salsa (39 points), the Charleston (39 points) and the Showdance (40 points).

Series 11 – Abbey Clancy

The Britain's Next Top Model runner up won Strictly in 2013.

With her partner Aljaz Skorjanec, she won the show dancing the Waltz (40 points), the Showdance (38 points) and the Quickstep (38 points).

Since the show, Abbey returned to Britain's Next Top Model (she came second in 2006) as a head judge.

Series 12 – Caroline Flack

The former X Factor presenter, who sadly died earlier this year, won Strictly in 2014.

In the final along with her partner Pasha Kovalev, she danced the Cha Cha Cha (40 points), the Showdance (40 points) and the Charleston (40 points).

Series 13 – Jay McGuiness

Following in the footsteps of McFly's Harry Judge, The Wanted boyband member Jay McGuiness won the BBC show in 2015.

With his partner Aliona Vilani, Jay danced the Quickstep (36 points), the Showdance (35 points) and the Paso Doble (39 points).

After winning the show he starred in the musical Big and went on to win Celebrity Hunted with his former bandmate Siva Kaneswaran.

Series 14 - Ore Oduba

TV presenter Ore Oduba won the glitterball trophy in 2016 alongside his partner Joanne Clifton.

During the final the pair danced to American Smooth (39 points) and they scored a whopping 40 points for the Showdance and the Jive.

After winning the show, Ore has continued to present and he welcomed his first child into the world with his wife Portia.

Series 15 - Joe McFadden

Actor Joe McFadden and his professional dance partner Katya Jones won Strictly Come Dancing in 2017.

They managed to win the judges and the public over with the Showdance (39 points), Vienesse Waltz (39 points) and Charleston (40 points).

Not only did he win Strictly but the 42-year-old actor broke a record and became the oldest ever winner of the show.
Go Joe!

Strictly 2017 winner has continued acting after getting the glitterball trophy.

Series 16 - Stacey Dooley

Journalist and broadcaster Stacey Dooley took the crown in 2018 with her partner Kevin Clifton, beating Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, YouTuber Joe Sugg and Steps' Faye Tozer.

They won the show with 39 points on their Foxtrot, 36 points on their Showdance and 39 points with their Paso Doble,

Series 17 - Kevin Fletcher

Considering Emmerdale's Kevin Fletcher was a last minute replacement for Made In Chelsea's Jamie Laing, who couldn't participate in the show due to a foot injury, he did incredibly well to win it with Oti Mabuse.
Fletcher and Mabuse were given 39 points from the judges for their rumba, 40 points for their showdance and 39 points for their samba.

Strictly Come Dancing airs every Saturday and Sunday evening on BBC One.

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