Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse "didn't speak to sister Oti for a year" after she made the decision to quit South Africa for Germany. Oti says her older sibling "didn't want" her to leave home to pursue life as a dancer with future husband Marius Iepure.

Motsi, 44, made the move from South Africa to Germany back in 2007 when she became part of Let's Dance as a professional dancer. She returned for the programme's third series and ultimately secured a spot on the judging panel in 2011.

When Oti later confided her aspirations to follow a similar path in dance, Motsi arranged for her to meet several potential dance partners.

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Despite being open to testing the waters with various dancers, Oti - who became a Strictly professional in 2015 - has admitted she instantly recognised Marius as "the one". However, even though Motsi facilitated the introduction to her future husband, Oti has disclosed that her sister was far from enthusiastic about her dancing ambitions.

During an appearance on Women's Health's Just As Well podcast, she revealed: "Motsi didn't want it. She was like, 'I know this guy, I'll give you his number, I'll give you a few guys that you can try out with but I don't want you here. I don't want you in Germany'.", reports Wales Online.

"She was already in Germany and had 10 years of the struggle of a dancer's life. The same way as I feel about my daughter, she felt about me, which scares me.

"She was like, 'I don't want this life for you. I don't want you here. I don't want you to go through the hell that I have gone through'. She didn't talk to me for like a year, my whole family was so upset that I chose to be a dancer.

"And she was also like, 'This boy Marius, he just wants to be your boyfriend, that's all he wants, I want you to be serious', and I was like, 'Well, it's a bit late now' and so we were together and dancing together."

Oti revealed that 12 months later, her family made amends. She continued: "After a year they were like, 'Okay, we're really sorry and we miss you and we should have supported you, but it's so good that you did it yourself and were able to succeed'."

Oti clinched the Strictly crown in consecutive years, 2019 and 2020, before departing to take up a judging role on Dancing on Ice. This year she's lined up to sit on the judging panel for the Irish edition of Dancing with the Stars.

Meanwhile, Motsi has held a judging position on the programme since 2019, stepping in for Darcey Bussell. She'll be back on our screens from 7pm on BBC One as Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, Karen Carney and Carlos Gu, alongside George Clarke and Alexis Warr battle it out for the coveted Glitterball Trophy.

Additionally, Motsi is set to feature on the Blankety Blank Christmas Special airing at 6.20pm on BBC One, sharing the spotlight with the likes of comedian Alex Brooker, vocalist Charlotte Church, actor Daniel Mays, comic Jack Dee, and actress Stephanie Beacham.