Oti Mabuse says tour has given her a new 'purpose' in life
Strictly Come Dancing favourite Oti Mabuse is set to dazzle the nation once more, this time with a thrilling new live stage show after becoming a first-time mum.
Oti, now a judge on ITV's Dancing on Ice, remains a creative force on Strictly as a choreographer, despite stepping back from the limelight as one of its professional dancers.
And now she's preparing for another career move - she's launching a new stage tour celebrating the biggest carnivals of the world. Viva Carnival is set to launch next year and kicks off in Sheffield on June 12 where it will feature everything from Brazilian Sambas to Argentine Tangos.
It comes after Oti welcomed her baby daughter prematurely at the end of last year, with the newborn facing an intense six-week stay in intensive care where she battled jaundice, which she had contracted due to Oti suffering from sepsis during her pregnancy.
But now Oti's looking forward to taking her little girl on the road with her alongside her professional dancer husband Marius Lepure when the tour kicks off in Sheffield on June 12.
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Oti shared insights about the upcoming tour on The One Show, where co-host Alex Jones said: "It's amazing that you're back doing a tour like this after having a baby, that's a feat in itself but, of course, like it happens often it wasn't straight forward - you've talked about that very openly. Does it feel good to be back and finally be able to do it?" reports WalesOnline.
Oti replied: "It does and I think now I have another purpose in life - I'm doing it for her," she beamed. The tot seems to have inherited the dancing gene, with Oti humorously reflecting, "I'm like I wanted you to be an accountant not a dancer and she's already liking dance like this so it's nice to see I'm dancing and I'm doing it for her and the purpose has completely changed now."
The conversation then turned to the highly-anticipated tour outfits, with Alex expressing excitement about the potential "brilliant costumes" associated with carnival themes.
Addressing the importance of costume design, Oti stressed: "I think costumes have a power of placing you and telling you where we're going to be because the show is based on carnivals from all over the world so if we're in Brazil for a number the costumes have to say that and if we're doing the Notting Hill Carnival the costumes have to say that so for me they're really important but it's important I can dance in them!"
The One Show is on BBC One week nights at 7pm and on BBC iPlayer
