Strictly stars issue devastating joint statement after 'very difficult circumstances'

Strictly Come Dancing stars Dianne Buswell and Vito Coppola have cancelled a portion of their show tonight, leaving fans devastated.

Dianne, 36, and Vito, 32, are in the middle of their Red Hot and Ready tour, with their performance taking place on Sunday (22 June) at London's iconic West End Shaftesbury Theatre. However, fans who had purchased the Meet and Greet package were left disappointed when they were told it wouldn't be going ahead.

Patrons received an email that read: "We're sorry to inform you but due to very difficult circumstances that have occurred today, today's meet and greet with Dianne and Vito has unfortunately been cancelled."

It continued: "Both Dianne and Vito send their deepest apologies and regret an inconvenience." The missive explained that although that segment of the show had been cancelled, the stars would still be going ahead with their performance on Sunday evening. The producers of the tour also assured customers they would received a full refund.

The news comes just days after Aussie dancer Dianne admitted the tour had been tough. She said: "I've been struggling, I've had a struggle struggle week."

Speaking on the Winning Isn't Everything podcast with former dance partner Chris McCausland, the star went on: "[...] Because I did have a moment, I've cried and everything, I had a moment where I thought, 'I feel really bad when I used to be so mean to Chris about being sick'."

Chiming in, the comedian teased: "Hang on, when we did Strictly, I'm just trying to think, even when I was bad or injured," which prompted Dianne to cut him short and add: "You were quite sick a lot."

In response, he went on to say: "How many times did I cry that wasn't for joyous, emotional reasons? How many times did I cry because of illness or pain or sadness?". He then quipped after a brief pause to consider that the answer was actually "zero".

Defending herself, Dianne suggested that women tend to get "much more emotional" than men, attributing it to hormonal factors.

The dancer, who is dating YouTuber Joe Suggs, and her co-star Vito's venture follows the annual national tour of Strictly Come Dancing which, for the first time, did not see its champion take part.

Chris, who made history in 2024 as the first-ever blind contestant and champion, had to skip the show's tour due to conflicting schedules with his own.

In a statement regarding the clash at the time, he explained: "I'm afraid I will not be able to do the Strictly tour. My own tour was meant to be on the road in September and a lot of dates were moved to Jan and Feb to accommodate doing #Strictly.

"It's unfortunate as it's been so much fun, but my own dates can't be moved for a second time."

The Express has reached out to Dianne and Vito's reps for comment.