STRICTLY's Oti Mabuse spent the day in bed and cried when she found out Jamie Laing was forced to quit the show.
The South African dancer, whose sister Motsi signed up this year as a judge, revealed she was devastated when she thought she'd be cut from the main line-up too after Jamie suffered a foot injury.
The 29-year-old said: "I was devastated when Jamie hurt himself and I had a long, tearful conversation with him.
"For a while I thought I had no partner and I was in bed all day thinking, 'I can’t do the show!' In moments like that you realise how much you love something."
Oti, who was paired up with Kelvin Fletcher in the end, added to this week's Radio Times: "I was feeling really bad, but one of the producers said, 'We’ll see what we can do.' When they called and told me about Kelvin, I cried – and it turns out he’s incredible!"
Jamie, 30, has been offered a place on Strictly next year after he suffered a foot injury that meant he wouldn't recover in time for the live shows.
Meanwhile, Oti will be glad to join her older sister on the front line this series after mum-of-one Motsi, 38, was head hunted from the German version of the show.
But the talented dancer recently opened up about being the subject of a warped joke based on her colour.
Stand-up comedian called Faisal Kawusi – a contestant on Let’s Dance in 2017 – sparked outrage with his vicious taunt comparing South Africans to monkeys.
He asked if Motsi could interpret the animals' grunting in the movie Planet of the Apes.
Speaking about the abuse, Motsi told last week Radio Times: "I’ve learnt the power of words. I’ve had the worst thrown at me."
She added: "Racism is very extreme and it has become worse in recent years. People are feeling, for some reason, ‘We can attack’.
"They write some bad stuff – they’re gonna ‘hit you with a baseball bat’ and call me ‘monkey’.”
But Motsi said that her painful experiences have helped shape her into a fair judge who will dish out only constructive criticism to celeb dancers.
She explained: "I’ve learnt to not look that deeply into what people say as it’s mostly a reflection of themselves.”
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