Will Best welcomed his first child and returned to Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals just days later, before delivering his highest score of the series with professional partner Dianne Buswell.
The presenter, 41, and his fiancée Tobi Rose became parents to a son, Sonny, on Sunday. Best then resumed training for the couple’s jive while coping with several nights of broken sleep.
During rehearsals, Best became tearful as he shared the news with Buswell, who became a mother herself in March.
“Big week this week. We’ve got the jive… also I’ve had a baby,” he told her.
Buswell was also moved as she welcomed Best to what she called “the mum and dad club”. She told him: “What I will say, is that you will feel tired but it’s a magical tired – you’re tired from the exhaustion of loving them so much.”
Best later praised his dance partner, saying: “You’re doing all of this and you’ve got a baby and you’re clearly the most amazing mum so I want to try and learn from you.”
Despite admitting that he had “haven’t slept in days”, Best received warm feedback from the judges after the performance. Shirley Ballas told him to be “proud of yourself” and described it as his “best dance so far”, while Craig Revel Horwood said the pair had done a “fantastic job”.
Anton Du Beke added a joke of his own: “My advice to you is to continue to not sleep because it works wonders for your dancing!” The performance earned Best and Buswell 31 points.
Emma Willis also marked the arrival of Sonny during Saturday’s live show, revealing that the Strictly stars had bought presents for the new father and his baby.
After the judges displayed a pair of tiny shoes and a miniature scoring paddle, Willis produced a “teeny tiny violin”. The presenter, who is a mother of three, said it was “just in case I ever hear Will complain about how tired he is when it was his fiancée that gave birth”.
Best, who also presents the weekly live Big Brother eviction show on Fridays, had earlier prompted calls from fans for him to receive a week of paternity leave.
“My beautiful fiancée and I have got a baby now,” he said during rehearsals. “Sunday morning he arrived and he’s amazing. Tobs is doing well, it’s the most surreal, wonderful thing. I haven’t slept for a couple of days.”
Buswell acknowledged the challenge ahead, saying: “No sleep and a Jive… we just have to do it don’t we? We just have to crack on.”
Best and Rose became engaged in July 2024 after more than a decade together. He proposed during a romantic trip to Tuscany in Italy.
