STRICTLY legend Oti Mabuse has dropped a major clue that Dani Dyer’s replacement will be Waterloo Road’s Tillie Amartey.
The Sun exclusively revealed today that Tillie, 22, is in talks to replace Love Island star Dani, 29, on the BBC dance competition.
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Yesterday a “heartbroken” Dani confirmed that she had quit the show after she fractured her ankle in training on Friday.
With Dani’s early departure, bosses have opened talks with actress Tillie and it looks like former Strictly pro Oti, 35, may have confirmed the news.
A TikTok influencer shared out story earlier today and it quickly got the attention of Oti, who commented: “This is brilliant.”
Fans immediately speculated that Oti may have “given away” who Dani’s replacement will be – suggesting she could have insider knowledge as her sister Motsi Mabuse, 44, is a judge on the show.
Another fan wrote: “Is it true?”
A third posted: “I hope so,” while this person said: “Yes absolutely. I would love to see this.”
The up-and-coming star, who is from Leeds, is also the niece of Spice Girl Mel B and previously dated EastEnders‘ Bobby Brazier.
A source told The Sun: “Tillie recently quit her role on Waterloo Road telling pals it was to make way for ‘another big’ project, which could be a game changer for her career.
“She’s been making several trips from her Leeds home to London for discussions with TV execs in recent weeks. The feeling is that if she is filling the shoes vacated by Dani, the programme needs another young, glam woman to take her spot.”
They continued: “There is already an imbalance in the genders among the celebrities as there are nine men taking part and six women. It’s essential the number of females taking part doesn’t drop further, and they want to try and maintain a similar balance in terms of the variety of ages too.
“Tillie is incredibly ambitious and hard working and, even though she is just 22 years old, she’s already made great strides in the industry – but wants to go much, much further.
“If she does sign up for Strictly she will be using it very much as a platform for even bigger things and will definitely give it her all.”
The BBC told The Sun: “We don’t comment on speculation.”
Tillie, who has played Stacey Neville on the BBC school drama since 2024, took part in Strictly’s Christmas special in 2023.
She was partnered with Neil Jones but lost out to Jamie Borthwick and Nancy Xu.
She dated EastEnders actor Bobby between August 2021 and March 2022, and while they haven’t been an item for some years they have remained close pals.
They even attended the National Film Awards together back in July.
Dani was set to compete with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, 27.
The reality TV star wrote in a statement: “I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny.
“I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.”
Dani continued: “Apparently doing the Quickstep on a fracture is not advisable and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance, so I’ve had to pull out of the show.
“To say I’m heartbroken is the biggest understatement.
“I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita but will of course be watching closely and cheering all the couples on.”
Just days ago Dani shared her nerves ahead of the live shows.
She said last week: “I’m absolutely petrified about dancing live on Saturday nights.”
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