REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Oti Mabuse’s husband Marius Lapure arrived Down Under with their daughter, 13 months, and her mother, Dudu Mabuse on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming I’m A Celebrity vote-offs which are expected to be at the end of the week.
Their arrival comes after Oti defended her decision to leave her newborn to star in the Jungle, by insisting, ‘Mum has goals too. She won’t remember it, it’s just a couple of days’.
It’s been two weeks since the former Strictly Come Dancing professional, 36, arrived in Brisbane Airport for her stint on the ITV show and the trio have flown out to Australia to meet her off the bridge when she leaves.
Marius was all smiles as he wrapped an arm around Oti’s mum Dudu and carried the couple’s little girl in a sling as they made their way through the airport.
He cut a casual figure in black tracksuit bottoms and a gilet while the couple’s daughter was dressed in an adorable pink all in one.
Oti Mabuse ’s husband Marius Lapure arrived Down Under with their 13-month-old daughter and her mother, Dudu Mabuse on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming I’m A Celebrity vote-offs
It’s been two weeks since the former Strictly Come Dancing professional, 36, arrived in Brisbane Airport for her stint on the ITV show and the trio have flown out to Australia to meet her off the bridge when she leaves
Oti has yet to face a Bushtucker trial during the ITV show but he said he thought it was a good thing she hasn’t had too much airtime.
Speaking to MailOnline in Australia, he said: ‘I think she has enough. I don’t think it’s a good thing to stick out. I think it’s about the whole group, there are different situations and challenges.’
Marius said he had been voting for his wife but he couldn’t wait to meet her off the bridge, ‘As you can imagine and the baby cannot wait.’
Speaking about how he felt about Oti going into the Jungle and leaving him to look after their daughter, the professional dancer said: ‘We were discussing this for the best part of a few years.
‘She always said she would love to do it. I teach kids because we have a dance studio so I’m used to looking after them and we have the best help with her family and my parents.’
The father-of-one said it had been ‘so nice looking after the little one’ and revealed: ‘She’s been sleeping so well, we actually couldn’t get out of the plane because she was still sleeping. [They took about an hour to come off the plane].’
Oti’s mum Dudu has been integral in taking care of their newborn, as the Dancing on Ice judge wrote on her Instagram earlier this year:
‘Mom especially – I couldn’t do this without her we fight and laugh about it but she cooks, cleans, washes, helps watch the little when we work and forgets that it’s our baby, not hers but she is a super mom and I hope one day to be a fraction of the mother she is.’
Oti’s daughter’s arrival Down Under comes after the mother-of-one defended her decision to leave her to star in the insisting: ‘Mum has goals as well.’
Their arrival comes after Oti defended her decision to leave her newborn to star in the Jungle , by insisting, ‘Mum has goals too. She won’t remember it, it’s just a couple of days’; pictured with Coleen Rooney
Marius was all smiles as he wrapped an arm around Oti’s mum Dudu and carried the couple’s little girl in a sling as they made their way through the airport
He cut a casual figure in black tracksuit bottoms and a gilet while the couple’s daughter was dressed in an adorable pink all in one
Oti has yet to face a Bushtucker trial during the ITV show but Marius said he wasn’t worried about her lack of airtime, he said: ‘I think she has enough. I don’t think it’s a good thing to stick out’
Speaking about how he felt about Oti going into the Jungle and leaving him to look after their daughter, he said: ‘We were discussing this for the best part of a few years. She always said she would love to do it’
Oti’s appearance on the ITV show comes just 13 months after her only child’s ‘traumatic’ birth in which she was born 28 weeks premature and had to spend six weeks in the ICU
Oti’s family arrival comes ahead of the first I’m A Celebrity vote-offs; pictured with Melvin Odoom
It comes 13 months after her only child’s ‘traumatic’ birth in which she was born 28 weeks premature and had to spend six weeks in the ICU.
The professional dancer continued: ‘I think it’s nice for her to see mum is fully committed and loves her so much but also wants to do what she wants to do.
‘Mum has goals as well, and I think it’s something as mums, we can all kind of be proud of, that we can be these incredible human beings as well as accomplish our goals or do things that are fun for us.
Read More I’m A Celebrity fans brand Melvin Odoom and Oti Mabuse as ‘the perfect pairing’ 
‘And when she grows up, she’ll Google me, and she’ll probably see it and be like, Yeah, my mum did that.’
The sister of Strictly’s judge, Motsi Mabuse, who hails from South Africa revealed she had been asked six times by ITV to appear on the show but chose this year before her daughter becomes too old to leave behind.
She said: ‘I’ll probably never do it again. I’ll never get another opportunity to do it again. I’d love to grow my family. I’d like to do other things. And so this was the year for me to do it, and it just felt right.’
Oti is the only professional dancer to have won Strictly Come Dancing two years in a row, first in 2019 with soap star, Kelvin Fletcher and in 2020 with the comedian, Bill Bailey.
After seven years on the show, Oti quit the BBC flagship show in 2022 because she wanted to pursue more presenting roles but also revealed her struggles behind the Strictly scenes.
Praising her husband of ten years for sticking by her while she was on the show, Oti said: ‘He’s seen me not eat, he’s seen me overeat, he’s seen me having to deal with interesting personalities.
‘I got to the point where I was like, ‘I think I’m finished,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah I think there’s this new thing that’s got a fire in your stomach. When you’re hosting or talking to people you’re a completely different person.’
Since quitting, Oti has shifted her alliance to ITV, having appeared on the judging panel for the network’s major shows such as Dancing on Ice and the Masked Singer.
I’M A CELEBRITY 2024: MEET THE ALL STAR LINE UP
OTI MABUSE
Oti Mabuse has already two Strictly glitterballs under her belt
AGE: 34
OCCUPATION: Professional dancer
FAMOUS FOR: Oti is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2019 and 2020.
DANNY JONES
Danny Jones is one of the bookies’ favourites to win this year’s I’m A Celeb
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: McFly singer
FAMOUS FOR: Danny is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly.
He is also a coach on The Voice UK.
BARRY MCGUIGAN
Former boxer Barry McGuigan is heading into the jungle
AGE: 63
OCCUPATION: Retired professional boxer
FAMOUS FOR: Barry was nicknamed The Clones Cyclone and held the WBA and lineal featherweight тιтles from 1985 to 1986.
GK BARRY
GK Barry is a TikTok star who recently joined the ITV family on Loose Women
AGE: 25
OCCUPATION: TikTok star
FAMOUS FOR: Grace is known for her comedic commentary on culture, lifestyle, and fashion. She has over 3.6 million followers and recently joined the Loose Women panel.
DEAN MCCULLOUGH
ITV bosses are hoping Dean McCullough will ruffle feathers in the camp
AGE: 32
OCCUPATION: Radio 1 DJ
FAMOUS FOR: Radio 1 DJ Dean has been signed by I’m A Celeb bosses, in the hope that he will ruffle feathers with his outspoken views.
Earlier this year it was announced Dean would be taking over the BBC Radio 1 Early Breakfast Show, after previously fronting the afternoon slot.
JANE MOORE
Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Journalist
FAMOUS FOR: Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women between 1999 and 2002.
She returned as a regular panellist from 2013 onwards.
Jane takes on the challenge following her high-profile split from husband of 20 years, Showbiz agent, Gary Farrow.
MELVIN ODOOM
Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021
AGE: 44
OCCUPATION: DJ and TV presenter
FAMOUS FOR: His work on radio. Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021, but turned down the offer at the last minute.
He also had a primetime stint on Strictly back in 2016.
COLEEN ROONEY
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: WAG
FAMOUS FOR: Wagatha Christie case against arch rival Rebekah Vardy.
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history, exceeding Nigel Farage’s £1.5million from last year.
ALAN HALSALL
Alan Halsall is best known for his role as Tyrone Dobbs on Coronation Street
AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Actor
FAMOUS FOR: Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall was forced to withdraw from I’m A Celeb last year, after undergoing ACL Reconstruction surgery.
Bosses have now convinced the actor to sign up again, and no doubt he will draw in a huge fanbase thanks to his long-running role as Tyrone Dobbs on the soap.
TULISA
Tulisa is making her career comeback after reuniting with N-Dubz last year
AGE: 36
OCCUPATION: Singer and former X Factor judge
FAMOUS FOR: Tulisa reunited with N-Dubz last year for a tour after first finding fame with the band in 2007.
In 2011, she became a judge on The X Factor and went on to launch her debut solo album, The Female Boss.
She released her fourth album with N-Dubz last year.
REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Richard is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England priest
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Writer, broadcaster and priest
FAMOUS FOR: Richard is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England priest.
He first came to prominence as the multi-instrumentalist who partnered Jimmy Somerville in the 1980s band the Communards.
MAURA HIGGINS
Maura is best known for her stint on Love Island UK in 2019
AGE: 33
OCCUPATION: TV Personality
FAMOUS FOR: Maura is an Irish television personality, television presenter and model.
She rose to prominence in 2019, when she was a finalist on the fifth series of ITV2 reality series Love Island.
