Strictly Come Dancing 2026 host Emma Willis makes cheeky dig at Will Best following birth of his baby boy
Fans were loving her jokeStrictly Come Dancing 2026 host Emma Willis couldn’t resist teasing Will Best about new-parent tiredness on his return to the ballroom floor.
Will and fiancée Tobi welcomed their first baby last Sunday, sharing the news through his Instagram account. His comeback routine with Dianne Buswell was an Elton John-inspired jive for Strictly’s Icons Week.
Will Best receives Strictly baby gifts after his jive
Emma’s little jibe came just before Will’s jive.
When introducing him on Strictly, the hosts and judges revealed a few little presents they’d got Will. Emma held up a miniature violin instead of a more conventional baby gift.
“I got Will this teeny tiny violin just in case he ever complains about how tired he is after it was his fiancé who gave birth,” she joked.
Fans were left in stitches by the cheeky moment.
“The tiny violin is sending me,” one said.
“EMMA [crying emojis],” another wrote. “Oh my god, Emma with the tiny violin LFG feminism,” a third said.
Will and Dianne’s performance
The judges awarded Will and Dianne one seven and three eights for their performance. That gave them 31 points and third place on the leaderboard, behind Cach Mercer and Jaime Winstone.
Alongside the jokes, the Strictly team had brought gifts to celebrate the new arrival. Shirley Ballas revealed tiny dance shoes, while Craig Revel Horwood offered a paddle displaying a one.
The idea was that the baby could judge his dad’s dancing from home.
Later, the cast presented Will with a personalised blue outfit bearing the words “Tiny Dancer”.
Will also waved to his son during a chat with Johannes Radebe, hoping he was enjoying the show.
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Dianne Buswell supports Will Best through new parenthood
The mood had been more emotional in the pair’s filmed rehearsal segment, where both became tearful discussing parenthood.
Dianne welcomed a son with Joe Sugg last year and had advice about the exhaustion of new parenthood. She told Will: “But it’s like a magical tired.”
Will praised her for combining motherhood with dancing, describing her as an inspiration and hoping to learn from her.
After their performance, Dianne highlighted the challenge of learning a particularly busy jive while going without sleep. She praised him for completing it and said he had done it for his son.
Will had announced the birth in an Instagram video filmed at the hospital, showing followers the baby in his arms. Tobi also teased him online about juggling a newborn, sleepless nights and rehearsals for the jive.
The Strictly results show airs tonight (Sunday, October 18) from 7.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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