Oti Mabuse says she WOULDN'T recognise an ex Strictly partner if they competed on The Masked Dancer

EXCLUSIVE: ‘That’s the fun part!’ Oti Mabuse insists she WOULDN’T recognise an ex Strictly partner if they competed on The Masked Dancer in disguise

By Callum Wells For Mailonline

Published: 21:05 BST, 31 August 2022 | Updated: 21:08 BST, 31 August 2022

Oti Mabuse has insisted she wouldn’t recognise one of her former Strictly Come Dancing partners if they were to compete on The Masked Dancer in disguise.

The ballroom professional, 32, joined the BBC staple in 2015, before leaving in 2021 to pursue opportunities as a judge on ITV’s TMS and Dancing On Ice.

Speaking to MailOnline at Tuesday’s TV Entertainment Schedule Launch, she said: ‘I don’t think I would be able to tell whether it is. There are so many people who are connected to you and you think, “Oh no, no this is not them.”

‘That’s the fun part!’ Oti Mabuse, 32, has insisted she wouldn’t recognise one of her former Strictly Come Dancing partners if they were to compete on The Masked Dancer in disguise

She repeated: ‘I don’t think I would be able to tell and that’s the fun part and then they take their mask off and you’re like oh!’

Fellow panellist Davina McCall was then asked which celebrity unmasking had been the biggest surprise, to which she unflinchingly replied: ‘Natalie Imbruglia.

‘That was so weird for me because I know Natalie and she was my favourite character from that series. I was obsessed and not only was Panda someone I knew and loved, I had not guessed it at all. And we had messaged during the series.’

Mystery: Oti (pictured with mystery dancer Pig) said: ‘I don’t think I would be able to tell and that’s the fun part and then they take their mask off and you’re like oh!’

Presenter Joel Dommett then teased that the new installment will see A-List stars so famous and ‘so huge’, he ‘couldn’t believe’ his eyes.

He explained: ‘I think because now there are so many more people travelling and there were definitely a few where I was like, “Oh my god! This is… I’m really starstruck and they’re right here!”‘

Oti recently revealed that she and Davina text ‘all the time’ trying to work out the identities of the stars on the show as she spoke about the show’s much-anticipated second series.

Judges: Oti recently revealed that she and Davina McCall text ‘all the time’ trying to work out the identities of the stars on the show (L-R Davina, Peter Crouch and Oti)

The South African dancer described the presenter, 54, as her ‘co-detective’ and said they have bonded over their determination to figure out who the dancers are on the ITV reality show.

Her comments come as The Masked Dancer UK returns for its second series, with a celebrity cast hiding behind colourful suits while displaying their talents for shaking a leg in attempt to baffle, bewilder and bamboozle the panel and viewers as they are hidden from view.

Speaking about her and Davina’s determination to figure out which stars are beneath the costumes, Oti said: ‘Davina and I text all the time trying to guess who they are.

Dectective: The South African dancer described the presenter, 54, as her ‘co-detective’ and said they have bonded over their determination to figure out who the dancers are

‘Davina is my co-detective on the show. Backstage she and I are throwing ideas around on who the celebrities could be. She’s the person I go to with my ideas. I honestly don’t stop thinking about the show.’

While Davina added: ‘Oti and I message all of the time; it was midnight the other night when Oti sent me random pictures of people and asked ‘same body shape as…? I mean, we’re just literally clutching at straws, but I am having such a hoot.’

Oti also spoke about the challenges of not being able to hear the celebrities’ voices on the show – unlike its sister show The Masked Singer – and said her celebrity knowledge from her podcast helps her identify the stars.

Guess who! Her comments come as The Masked Dancer UK returns for its second series, with a celebrity cast hiding behind colourful suits while displaying their talents for shaking a leg Pictured: Prawn Cocktail, Candlestick, Odd Socks, Pillar and Post, Scissors and Astronaut