When she was partnered with Bill Bailey, Oti might have thought her chances of bringing the Glitterball home two years in a row had quickstepped out the window.
In comparison to buff, athletic 35-year-old ex-Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher, the comic was 20 years older, definitely rotund and likely destined to follow in the dance missteps of Ann Widdecombe and Ed Balls.
That Bill swept to victory in Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night as a favourite of fans and judges is down to his likeability, talent and wit – but, as he was the first to admit, also down to professional dancer partner Oti Mabuse For the second year in a row, the South African has moulded a champion against the odds – Kelvin arriving as a late replacement, Bill