Former Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse has expressed her "delight" as she received the prestigious Freedom of the City of London.
The tradition of the freedom of the city is believed to date back to 1237, and past recipients include comedian, actor and writer Sir Lenny Henry and Lady Mary Peters, who won an Olympic gold medal in the athletics pentathlon in 1972, as well as Sir Chris Hoy and his wife, Lady Sarra Hoy.
Oti joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 as a professional dancer before making the decision to leave in 2022. She won the glitzy show twice, first in 2019 with Emmerdale's Kelvin Fletcher and then the following year with Bill Bailey.
Previously speaking about why it was time for her to leave, she admitted: "That show trampolined many other doors and career opportunities for me. I wanted to explore different things, I wanted to start a family."
She has also appeared on The Greatest Dancer as a dance captain and as a judge on ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
The 34-year-old star received the prestigious honour, for her "significant achievements in contemporary dance and her charitable work".
As Oti attended a ceremony at Guildhall with family and friends on Wednesday, she said: "I am delighted to have received the Freedom of the City of London for my dance and charitable work, and I am very grateful to Chris Hayward and Keith Bottomley for nominating me.
"To be following in the footsteps of legends of the arts and entertainment industry, including Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Giles Terera, and Strictly’s very own Len Goodman, feels quite remarkable."
Len Goodman was a staple on the BBC ballroom show, but the head judge died in 2023 aged 78-years-old.
Mr Hayward, the policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, expressed: "Having won a clutch of dance titles during her career and a place in our hearts, mostly, down to her appearances on the hugely popular Strictly, I am sure that Oti’s Freedom will be welcomed warmly by her many admirers.
"Away from the dance world, her work with Unicef to raise awareness of the support needed by premature babies and their mothers, is highly commendable, and I am very happy to join my colleague, Keith Bottomley, in nominating Oti for the Freedom."
While Mr Bottomley, the sheriff-elect of the City of London, added: "As well as impressing us on the dance floor, Oti Mabuse’s charitable work with women and young people in communities across London, and overseas with Unicef, deserves our admiration and respect.
"It has been a pleasure to nominate Oti to be admitted into the Freedom, and I am sure that she will have very happy memories of today for many years to come.".
