Her appointment has been shrouded in controversy, but new Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse has confirmed it's her priority to be a fair judge - despite her sister, Oti, competing on the show.
“One of the main points everywhere in my life is fairness,” the 38-year-old dancer told The Sun. “Coming from South Africa and being treated unfairly all your life because of your skin colour, that’s been a huge point.”
It's not the first time the sisters have been in this situation as Motsi used to judge Oti on Let's Dance - the German version of Strictly. And it wasn't an issue.
"We have to speak about Oti doing her journey and if she gets to a point where she has a chance to win this and she feels I only want it because my sister is there, then it wouldn’t be such a big thing for her to celebrate. I wouldn’t want to take that away from her," Motsi explained.
“I really need to be fair and she’ll get what everybody else is getting. We’re on different paths and it’s important. I don’t think anybody should be bigger than the show and it’s important that everybody is very professional.”
Reflecting on their time together on Let's Dance, Motsi - who recently appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox - said: “We did go through it. The main point is that I’m not judging Oti. We’re never judging the pro dancers. They are brilliant, they are beautiful and they’ve done what they need to do to get there.
"But then again she’s used to me saying something about her dancing because I’ve taught her from the minute she could walk. I’ve always been by her side.”
MORE: RYLAN REVEALS HUGE IT TAKES TWO SHAKE UP
Motsi will join Shirley Ballas (head judge), Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood when the series kicks off next weekend.
Dame Darcey Bussell announced she was stepping down earlier this year to focus on other projects.
