Oti Mabuse, the South African professional dancer and television personality who conquered Strictly Come Dancing with back-to-back wins in 2019 and 2020, has been named as one of the judges for the 2026 British Book Awards.
The announcement positions Mabuse (known primarily for her ballroom prowess and judging stints on shows like Dancing on Ice and The Masked Dancer UK) as part of a diverse panel evaluating one of the UK’s most prestigious literary prizes. Beyond dance floors, Mabuse has built a literary career of her own, authoring the “Dance With Oti” children’s book series and working on her debut romance novel Slow Burn. She has cited Colleen Hoover, Bernardine Evaristo, and Dolly Alderton among her favorite authors, precisely the range the British Book Awards seeks to honor.
The British Book Awards, also known as “The Nibbies,” will hold its 2026 ceremony on May 11 at London’s Grosvenor Hotel, coinciding with the National Year of Reading. Administered by The Bookseller magazine, the awards recognize books, publishers, authors, and bookshops across categories that celebrate both artistic achievement and market success. This year introduces new categories including Romantic Fiction Book of the Year, Science Fiction and Fantasy Award, and Graphic Novel Book of the Year for adults and children. Mabuse joins a judging panel chaired by Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, alongside Dame Prue Leith, and Yulia Navalnaya among others.
For Mabuse, the judging role adds another dimension to a career that has already expanded from competitive ballroom into choreography, television presenting, children’s programming (hosting CBeebies’ Boogie Beebies during lockdown), and writing. Her participation in the British Book Awards, particularly in a year when the awards have created space for romance and genre fiction, suggests recognition that cultural influence increasingly flows across disciplines, and that someone who has mastered one art form while building literary credibility of her own brings valuable insight to evaluating how books connect with audiences beyond the page.
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