The dancer shared the sweet support she has been receiving from her dad which comes after her confirmed return to Strictly

Strictly Come Dancing star Dianne Buswell(Image: Dianne Buswell Instagram)

Dianne Buswell shared the sweet support she has been receiving from her dad as she also issued a three-word response to a particular comment about her return to Strictly Come Dancing.

Last month, the dancer opened up about her dad’s period of ill health during her return home to Australia. Dianne had quite a bittersweet trip back home to see her family, with her sharing the heartbreaking loss of her beloved Nan before sharing how her dad has been unwell and in the hospital.

At the time, Dianne took to Instagram and shared a photo of herself with her day, who was laying alongside her in a hospital bed. “My dad my super hero,” Dianne captioned the post.

She then later shared more details about her dad’s ill health, revealing he ended up having open heart surgery after regular check-ups following a previous cancer diagnosis flagged concerns with his heart.

Speaking to her celebrity dance partner Chris McCausland in the latest episode of their podcast, Winning Isn’t Everything, Dianne said she was wearing a hat in her dad’s honour that he was seen sporting during the epic Strictly final back in December, where they were seen emerging as the 2024 series champions.

The professional dancer was quick to reassure everyone as she said: “He’s doing well everyone. He’s doing really well. First and foremost, I’m going to put that out there because we’re very happy about this news that he is in recovery and the doctors think he’s doing great…”

Dianne explained that the doctors have been amazed at the speed of Mark’s recovery having undergone a double heart bypass as the main artery to his heart was blocked.

Now, after she stayed by his side in the hospital, Dianne’s dad has been repaying his daughter’s support with sweet messages. Taking to Instagram, the Australian star shared a number of quotes about to and about daughters.

Dianne with her dad Mark while recently home in Australia(Image: Dianne Buswell Instagram)

Alongside one, she shared a heart and a face holding back tears emoji and said: “My dad just sent me this,” before sharing another and writing: “And this one [heart and smiling face emojis].” She added: “Bless his strong beating heart,” alongside a red heart icon.

Meanwhile, it’s been confirmed that Dianne will be returning to the Strictly ballroom later this year. The BBC confirmed the line-up of pros for the 2025 run of the hit dance show.

Alongside Dianne, returning for series 23 are Katya Jones, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola.

Reacting to the news alongside a video alongside a couple of photos of her time on the show and audio which declares ‘she’s back’, Dianne wrote on Instagram: “So excited to be back on strictly for my 9th year (almost longer than I did at school).

“Last year made me have a whole new sense of gratitude towards this show. The opportunity’s I have been given will never be taken for granted and I will always continue to feel that way towards strictly aka (the best show on telly ) @bbcstrictly.”

As the support from her Strictly co-stars and fans came flooding in, one comment caught Dianne’s attention as one of her followers asked: “Can you retain your crown?” to which she replied: “#winningisnteverything,” with a crying laughing emoji.

Fans will recall that Dianne and Chris revealed that was her dad’s exact phrase last year when he discovered his daughter would be dancing with the comedian during Strictly’s 20th anniversary series. It has since become to name of their joint podcast.