“Then my manager calls me, and she’s like, ‘I have news for you.” Former South African dance champion Motsi grew up in Pretoria but now lives in Germany. She has been a judge on Let’s Dance since 2011 and first appeared on the show as a professional dancer in 2007. On Strictly, she will have to critique her own sister Oti, 28, who is one of the show’s professional dancers.
On Strictly, she will have to critique her own sister Oti, 28, who is one of the show’s professional dancers.
Motsi said: “I’ll be there for her when she needs it – we’re sisters – but dancing and family are two different aspects, and we treat them differently. When Darcey left, I spoke to Oti and asked, ‘Do you think they’re going to keep it with three people, like we do in Germany, or are they going to get someone?’
“As a joke, on the phone, I said, ‘I’d do that’. We were laughing about it as a joke, then boom. And I’m like, ‘This is unbelievable’.”
Motsi admits she has not been in touch with Dame Darcey but is thrilled Strictly bosses chose to embrace someone so different from her predecessor.
“Darcey’s a ballerina – and now comes the jungle fever,” Motsi said. “I can start from scratch, rather than trying to be the next Darcey, which wouldn’t work.”
Motsi has not had much contact with the other Strictly judges, but she admitted: “I’m used to friction on the panel.
“We all get emotional. I think the most important part of it is to respect an opinion of another judge.
“No one is better than the other, and four people will see four different views.”
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