Pregnant Strictly star Dianne Buswell and former co-star Chris McCausland are ‘banned’ from working together due to her tight schedule on BBC show

Pregnant Dianne Buswell and her former co-star Chris McCausland can reportedly ‘no longer work together’ due to her tight upcoming Strictly Come Dancing schedule.

The professional dancer, who recently announced she is expecting her first child with YouTuber Joe Sugg, is set to make a return to the dancing competition this autumn.

Dianne was previously partnered with Chris on last year’s series – and the winning pair have had a beautiful friendship ever since leaving the show.

They stayed in touch and set up their podcast Winning Isn’t Everything, where they spoke about being in the competition. 

Chris made history as the first ever blind contestant, whilst Dianne is now making history as the first ever pregnant woman to compete.

Taking to X on Friday, comedian Chris, 48, revealed their podcast is now ‘at risk’ due to Dianne not being able to participate.

A fan wrote: ‘Chris!! Your podcast can’t be ending, I spend all week wishing it was Thursday. We were robbed with a shorter one too this week.’

He responded: ‘I’m afraid it’s a possibility. At the minute it doesn’t look like Dianne will be allowed to do it through Strictly.’

Others left wishes for the pair to start it up again once the show is over. 

Daily Mail has reached out to the BBC for comment.

It comes after insiders voiced concerns for Dianne’s wellbeing amid Strictly’s ‘gruelling 10-hour rehearsals’ – following her joyful pregnancy announcement last week.

Dianne is said to be ‘taking it at her own pace’ with ‘regular breaks’ as she becomes the first ever Strictly professional to compete on the show while pregnant.

An insider told Daily Mail: ‘There are duty of care and welfare measures in place for everyone working on Strictly.

‘As with all sessions, there will have been regular breaks and rest/warm-up periods, and the rehearsal will have been led by Dianne and tailored to the pace of her and her partner.’

Previously, The Sun claimed that Diane’s ‘marathon Strictly Come Dancing rehearsal went on for a gruelling ten hours,’ but insiders disputed this claim. 

For Dianne and Joe’s pregnancy reveal video, poignantly set to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer, the couple set up an easel and pretended to paint a picture together, with playful dramatics.

They then picked up the canvas to display it to the camera, revealing a drawing of two stick men – one with Dianne’s signature flaming red hair – holding hands with a baby.

The couple added that their first child was due in 2026 and even revealed the sex of their little one, declaring they were expecting a son.

Joe captioned the clip: ‘Our little baby boy ❤️ we cannot wait to meet you’.

The happy couple struck up a romance when they were paired together during the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.

And Dianne has made lots of hints towards their baby plans in recent months, admitting in May that she was desperate to become a mum.

But the star, who won the Glitterball Trophy with partner Chris McCausland last year, explained that the gruelling demands of her showbiz career had put their family plans on hold.