Strictly star Dianne Buswell's emotional phone call that left her devastated

Having relocated to the UK in 2017 to join Strictly Come Dancing, professional dancer Dianne Buswell has endured long periods away from her family in Western Australia. The distance felt especially difficult following the loss of her grandfather in July. Speaking to her former Strictly partner Chris McCausland on their Winning Isn't Everything podcast, Dianne shared: "He only celebrated his 99th birthday two weeks ago. I don't think he wanted to reach 100."

Dianne's grandfather, whom she affectionately called Buzz, was immensely proud of her success on Strictly and was amazed by her work teaching Chris, who is blind, how to dance. "He called you the blind fellow, he couldn't believe that I taught the blind fella how to dance," she told the comedian. Dianne also revealed that after winning her Glitterball Trophy, she traveled back to Australia to visit her family and spent precious moments watching footage of her performances with her beloved grandfather.

She recalled: "We watched some of the dances together. He got very emotional about it. He loved it. And before I left, he said to me, 'You know, I'm pretty much done'."

The entire family had hoped Buzz would celebrate his 100th birthday, but his health declined rapidly after his 99th birthday party, and he soon required the use of an oxygen mask.

"He was still in his nursing home. So he didn't go to hospital or anything, but he was getting weaker by the day. But he called me a couple of days ago and he was still quite conscious," Dianne explained.

"And that was the last time, because my dad told me this morning that he sadly passed away at about ten something this morning in Australian time, which is really sad. But he's now with his wife, Mary, who passed away from Alzheimer's.

Reflecting on her grandparents' enduring love, Dianne shared: "He loved her so, so much. They were inseparable. He did everything for her. They used to go traveling together. She was a surf life saver, he was a bike rider. They were a very fit and very active couple. So I'm sure he would be up there with her now having a little dance."

Dianne is currently partnered with Stefan Dennis, but the pair were forced to withdraw from week three of the competition after the Neighbours actor fell ill.

The couple have now confirmed they will return to the dance floor this weekend, telling fans: "Hi everyone, just want to say thank you very much for your support and well wishes while I was away last week. We're back in the training room aren't we? If all goes well, which it will, I'm going to be back on the floor with the lovely Dianne this Saturday!"