I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! star Oti Mabuse has spoken about the premature birth of her daughter, describing the situation as “hell”.
The professional dancer, who has also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice, and her husband Marius Iepure welcomed a baby girl in December 2023, with the pair announcing the news on Christmas Day.
The star has since opted for a stint in the jungle on I’m a Celebrity…, with Tuesday’s (November 26) episode seeing the dancer candidly talk with co-star Reverend Richard Coles about the premature birth of her daughter.
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“When my daughter was born, she was premature,” she recalled. “The way to connect with premature kids – because they’re in an incubator and you can only touch their hands – is by using your voice.
“They find comfort in your voice, so the only thing we could do was sing church songs. So for two months, every single day, we would sing church music,” she added, with Richard recalling his own experience of blessing a premature baby.
“My daughter was really tiny when she was born,” Oti continued. “She’s been through hell. It’s hell to be in the hospital, to hear those sounds, to not see your baby’s eyes for a week, to constantly look for advice from the doctors. The worst thing was, that every night, you needed to leave your baby in somebody else’s hands.”
Oti, who had previously met Richard whilst working on Strictly, added that she “couldn’t wait” for Richard to meet her daughter, remarking: “Maybe you can say a prayer over her, I would really love that.”
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“I’ve already said a prayer for her, actually,” replied Richard, who said in the Bush Telegraph that he “adored” Oti, whom he described as a “remarkable and strong woman” for “experiencing the ups and downs of life”.
“When you’re in here, you have time to reflect,” Oti added in the Bush Telegraph. “You have time to relive every single moment, no matter how traumatic it was. Talking about it with Richard made me very emotional, but it also made me very grateful because I’m so lucky.”
I’m a Celebrity… airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.