Will Best welcomes son Sonny as new father faces Strictly dancefloor return

Will Best’s next Strictly Come Dancing challenge comes with a new role waiting at home: father to baby Sonny. Best shared the news in a hospital video and a series of family photos, introducing his first child with fiancée Tobi Rose. His announcement also brought a glimpse of the sleepless days already shaping life as a new parent.

Best, 41, is competing on the BBC dance show while hosting Big Brother. He and Rose had announced they were expecting their first child before Strictly’s debut last month. Now Sonny has arrived, and the timing puts a very different kind of test alongside Best’s work on the dancefloor.

In the hospital clip, Best held the sleeping baby and described him as “this really cool new thing”. The understated line gave way to an unmistakably emotional moment: he looked down at Sonny with a broad smile, still seeming to take in that he was holding his child.

Best’s post filled in the family picture. The photos showed Sonny with Rose, resting in his cot and settled into his carrier. The last clip turned the camera back on Best, asleep after the exhaustion of becoming a father. The small details gave the announcement its warmth: the excitement of a first introduction alongside the fatigue of the first days.

A welcome for Sonny

Best captioned the post: “Well who do we have here then?! Welcome to the world Sonny Best, you little smasher.” He went on to praise Rose, writing, “Tobi Rose, you’re a miracle and I love you so much.” He closed by calling them “a couple of tired new parents” and adding: “oh my goodness aren’t we lucky xxx”.

Rose’s comment turned the focus quickly to the question Strictly viewers are likely to have: how will Best manage dance rehearsals and a newborn at home? She joked about the difficulty of learning the jive without sleep, then sharpened the scenario: “What’s worse Will Best, a new born baby and no sleep, learning the jive on no sleep OR learning the jive at the same time as having a new born baby AND no sleep?”

It’s a playful question, but it captures the unusual demands now surrounding Best’s appearance on the show. A dance routine requires concentration and practice, while a newborn has already upended the couple’s sleep. Best himself said he had not slept for a couple of days. His own post showed that the strain hasn’t dimmed the excitement; it has simply become part of the story.

Support from the Strictly circle

Congratulations arrived from friends, colleagues and fellow Strictly names. Best’s professional dance partner, Dianne Buswell, said her son Bowie was excited to meet Sonny. Strictly host Josh Widdicombe offered an emphatic “Holy moly!!!! Congratulations mate!”, while Zoe Ball welcomed Sonny and Fleur East encouraged Best to “smash it on that ballroom floor for your little family”. Tyler West and Oti Mabuse also sent their congratulations.

The birth was also announced on It Takes Two, where Best appeared in a pre-recorded clip. “I do have some big news to share,” he said, before telling viewers that he and his “amazing, beautiful fiancée” had a baby. He added that Sonny arrived on Sunday morning and said Rose was doing really well.

“It’s the most surreal, wonderful thing,” Best said. That description sits alongside the practical reality he mentioned in the same clip: he had not slept for a couple of days. The two details make the moment feel especially immediate. There’s the scale of welcoming a first child, and the ordinary, disorienting work of adjusting to life with a newborn.

Back to the ballroom

Best is expected back on the live dancefloor this Saturday, bringing the new arrival into the conversation around his Strictly run. Rose’s jive joke has already framed the challenge with affection, while Best’s announcement made clear how much this milestone means to them. The next appearance will come with a family waiting beyond the studio, and a very new reason for him to give the performance everything he has.

For now, the clearest measure of the moment is Best’s own blend of wonder and exhaustion. Sonny has arrived, Rose is doing well, and Best is preparing to return to the dancefloor after becoming a father. His Strictly schedule continues, but the family story has taken center stage: a baby named Sonny, two tired parents, and a first weekend together already taking shape around the show.