Strictly Come Dancing 2026 fans were left reaching for the tissues on Saturday night (October 17) as Dianne Buswell and Will Best became emotional during a heartfelt VT about their experiences as new parents.
The touching moment came just days after Will and his fiancée, Tobi Rose, welcomed their baby boy, Sonny. Dianne, meanwhile, became a mum to son Bowden back in March.
Will grew emotional (Credit: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing 2026 duo Dianne Buswell and Will Best in tears
Ahead of their jive on Saturday night, Will revealed to Dianne that he had become a dad, prompting an emotional reaction from his dance partner.
Dianne admitted the news was going to make her cry, and the pair later sat together on a park bench to talk about parenthood.
“Seeing the way you’ve been… I’m going to get emotional,” Will told her.
As he became tearful, he went on to praise Dianne, saying: “You’re inspirational. You are doing all of this, and you’ve got a baby, and you are clearly the most amazing mum.
“So, I want to try and learn from you.”
Dianne was visibly touched by his words and soon began crying herself.
“You’re going to be the most amazing dad, and all I can say is we’re going to do it together,” she told Will.
Viewers in tears over emotional VT
The sweet exchange struck a chord with viewers at home, with fans heading to X to share their emotional reactions to the moment.
“How sweet that Will and Dianne are going through the experience of being new parents together [crying emoji],” one fan tweeted.
“Will and Dianne are so wholesome,” another wrote.
“Will and Dianne crying, wait, now I’m crying too, whole house in waterworks,” a third commented.
“Aw, I love Will and Dianne,” another fan added, while a fifth asked: “Why are Will and Diane making me cry?”
Emma Willis takes cheeky swipe at Will
There was also plenty of laughter before the emotional VT, as Emma Willis took a playful dig at Will following the arrival of his baby boy.
After announcing Sonny’s birth, Emma and the judges revealed they had picked up some little gifts for the newborn.
Among them were a pair of dancing shoes and a tiny paddle bearing a score of 1, courtesy of Craig Revel Horwood.
Emma then produced a tiny violin, explaining: “I got Will this teeny tiny violin just in case he ever complains about how tired he is after it was his fiancé who gave birth.”
The joke had fans in stitches, with one writing: “The tiny violin is sending me.”
Another added: “Oh my god, Emma with the tiny violin LFG feminism.”
Despite the tears and laughter, Will and Dianne finished the night in third place on the leaderboard, scoring 31 points for their jive.
The Strictly results show airs tonight (Sunday, October 18) from 7.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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