Oti Mabuse

Otlile "Oti" Mabuse is a South African professional dancer, talent show judge, presenter, and Latin dance champion based in the United Kingdom. Born on 8 August 1990 in Pretoria, South Africa, she studied civil engineering at university before pursuing a career in professional ballroom dancing. Her elder sister, Motsi Mabuse, is also a professional ballroom dancer.

Mabuse achieved notable success in competitive dance, winning the South African Latin American Championship eight times before moving to Germany. Her competitive achievements include securing third place in the World Cup Freestyle Latin in 2014, second place in the European Championship Latin in 2014, and first place in the German Championship PD Freestyle Latin.

In 2015, Mabuse made her debut as a professional dancer on the eighth season of Let's Dance, the German version of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with singer Daniel Küblböck. She returned for the ninth season in 2016 with presenter Niels Ruf. Later in 2015, she joined Britain's Strictly Come Dancing for its 13th series, partnering with boxer Anthony Ogogo, and participated in special episodes with actors Jack Ashton and Tom Chambers.

Mabuse competed on Strictly Come Dancing for seven years. She finished as runner-up with actor Danny Mac in 2016 and competed alongside athlete Jonnie Peacock in 2017 and cricketer Graeme Swann in 2018. She won the competition in 2019 with actor Kelvin Fletcher, who replaced an injured Jamie Laing. Mabuse won again in 2020 alongside comedian Bill Bailey, becoming the second professional dancer to win twice and the only one to achieve back-to-back victories. Following a partnership with Ugo Monye, she confirmed her departure from the show in February 2022.

Beyond competitive television dance, Mabuse participated in Strictly Come Dancing - The Live Tour in 2017 and embarked on a 60-date UK tour titled An Audience With alongside Ian Waite in 2018. She became a Dance Captain on The Greatest Dancer in 2019, hosted Boogie Beebies in 2020, and choreographed the UK and Ireland tour of The Cher Show beginning in 2022. Her choreography for Kiss Me, Kate at the Watermill Theatre earned her a nomination for a BroadwayWorld UK Award.

Mabuse has held several high-profile television roles. She served as a panellist on The Masked Dancer between 2021 and 2022 and judged Dancing on Ice from 2022 until 2025. In 2026, she joined the judging panel for the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars. Her other television appearances include Celebrity MasterChef, Tipping Point: Lucky Stars, Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, and the 24th series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2024, where she placed fourth.

In her personal life, Mabuse married Romanian dancer Marius Iepure in 2014, moving from Germany to London in 2015. The couple announced the arrival of their daughter on Christmas Day in 2023. In 2025, Mabuse officially became a British citizen while retaining her South African citizenship.