New Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse has already risked the wrath of fans – by slating Blackpool.
She wrote: “Everyone knows the town, it is the ugliest which I have so far seen.”
That could mean an awkward reception when Motsi returns to the resort for Strictly’s annual shindig in November.
The dancer, who lives in Germany, compares Blackpool to ‘Ballermann’ – slang for a part of Palma popular with loutish German tourists.
A showbiz source explained: “Ballermann is a sub-culture for German chavs, where they go binge-drinking and for wild clubbing/sex parties in Mallorca.
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“It is basically the German equivalent of the Costa del Sol. Comparing Blackpool to Ballermann is therefore a very strong insult.”
Motsi’s not-so-fond memories of the Lancashire resort date from her time there during dance competitions.
In her 2015 autobiography Chili in the Blood, Motsi, 38, wrote: “Blackpool – Ballermann for the Londoners but a Mecca par excellence for tournament dancers. After a few days and many training hours in London, I moved into a hotel room, which was real a catastrophe – even in comparison to the last one I had.
“If anyone took a shower in the room above me, I could hear every single drop. I don’t even want to remember the other sounds I could hear.”
Blackpool Mayor Amy Cross has offered to show Motsi around.
“Blackpool is going through major regeneration,” she said. “Huge sums of money have been put in to the town over the past six years.
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“There’s been a massive improvement in hotels and the promenade. It’s an exciting and vibrant place to be.
“We feel incredibly privileged to host Strictly every year and I would like to extend an invite to Motsi to personally show her all the great things we have.”
Motsi found fame as a dancer in Germany after moving from South Africa where she grew up in poverty.
She is a judge on the German version of Strictly, called Let’s Dance, having started as a pro dancer, and is the older sister of Strictly pro Oti, 28.
Speaking of bagging her new role last week, Motsi said she was “thrilled and overjoyed” to be replacing Darcey Bussell.
In 2013 she was German Latin dance champion with Ukrainian Evgenij Voznyuk, who became her second husband in 2017.
It was in Blackpool where she met her first – German dancer Timo Kulczak – in 2003.
They divorced in 2014.
