OTI MABUSE

My sister loves to play Christmas music - especially Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' - that's definitely the best to dance to.

In the rest of Europe, dance is seen as a sport and in the UK it's seen as an art. And art isn't subsidised in the same way sport is.

I've made storylines through dance to complement the music. It's all about enhancing the singing and acting. It's been an amazing learning curve for me.

When you are different, that can lead to judges not marking you right because they think you look 'odd' - and that's in any competition.

I'm determined to not let my skin colour or the fact that I come from Africa be a hindrance.

My family plays a big part in my role as a dancer and my sister was my first trainer. She's still my role model and inspiration until this day. She was my first trainer, she taught me my first steps.

At the end of the day, a show like 'Strictly' is not about what colour you are, or where you come from. It is about how hard you are prepared to work and how well you can dance.

It's really important to always have a positive mind-set, no matter what people have been through.

I wouldn't do anything I don't enjoy.

In London, I live with one of the other 'Strictly' dancers, Amy Dowden. She got me a chocolate advent calendar and I had no idea what it was. I'd never seen one before!

I was born and raised in Pretoria. Nobody ever really talked about Santa because the whole concept just didn't make sense to us. Think about what South Africa looks like: I mean, we don't even have any chimneys for him to come down!

I know first-hand what it's like to be judged and to have someone criticise your creativity, your hard work and your art.

I had been dancing in competitions in South Africa since the age of four, before going on to compete internationally.

My first passion was to create for young girls the idea that you have to be brave and courageous, it's not easy taking big steps and saying, 'I'm going to be a professional dancer'.

South Africa is really diverse, with many cultures and 11 official languages, so there are lots of different Christmas traditions.

I like to be so good, that no-one can have anything to say about me; my dancing speaks for itself.

I have a thing for earphones - I have five types.

I'm obsessed with 'Wicked', and I'd love to play Nala in 'The Lion King'. Some of the songs from 'The Lion King' are performed in my native tongue, so when the cast performed an extract from the show in 'Strictly' in the language I grew up with, it made me cry.

With TV presenting, I speak a lot anyway!

I couldn't ask for anything else. I am super, super happy.

If something doesn't go your way, then look for another way. If something's broken, fix it.

I have different styles of shoe for different dances and I love sneakers, flats, platforms, heels, boots. Especially my thigh-high black leather boots from Kurt Geiger.

I can make a beginner, anyone with no dance experience, look amazing if we put in the hours.

I don't do anything I'm not going to enjoy.

Although I won many titles on the competition circuit, my first professional audition was in 2015 for the popular German version of 'Strictly Come Dancing', called 'Let's Dance'.