Thirty-nine-year-old Johannes Radebe, who has been a pro-dancer on the UK show since 2018, dressed up in a ‘big yellow Muppet costume’ to make ends meet while he was at college, struggling to break into the dance world. He recalls: “I was eating baked beans for a week and I thought ‘this is tough’. Dad had just passed away, Mum was at home with no job and me trying to do my studies.”
While he worried that the ‘Muppet-style’ role might preclude him from landing serious dance jobs, the money – 12,000 Rand (£540) – was too good to miss. But he reflects: “I had to make sure I didn’t turn into nothing.” Announced this week as one of three co-presenters for the new series of Strictly, alongside Emma Willis, 50, and Josh Widdicombe, 43, he need not have worried. “To be returning to Strictly in this new role is beyond anything I ever imagined,” he said.
Growing up in the township of Zamdela in Free State, South Africa, Johannes – whose sister, Jabu, is in her thirties – says life was tough. His mum Jacobeth Radebe mainly raised him, as his father – who worked for Coca-Cola – separated from her while he was at school and died when he was 12. Recalling his schooldays, Johannes, who is single, says: “I found school both exciting and terrifying. In those days township schools operated with strict rules.
View 5 ImagesJohn Whaite dances with Johannes Radebe on the 2021 series of Strictly (Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
“No backchat of any kind was permitted. Teachers were in authority and they were not to be questioned. Corporal punishment was still a thing. Bad behaviour was called out and kids were given a beating on the hands or bottom with a hard stick covered in Sellotape. As parents dropped their kids off at school, teachers were given verbal permission to use that stick. ‘Yes, he must do his work. If not, give him a hiding.’”
Now proudly gay, Johannes was also bullied. He says: “I remember this part of my life with sharply divided emotions. I learned how cruel and unkind children can be. I was picked on and marked out as different from the beginning. I was a little bit too flamboyant.”
Called a ‘sissy boy,’ he found comfort in his mother’s unerring love. He says: “Without using any label, Mum found a way to tell me she accepted and loved me. “That was the most powerful and liberating message this little boy who played with Barbie dolls, occasionally wore his mother’s heels and was bullied at school could ever hope to hear.”
But while his teachers encouraged his dancing, Johannes was picked on by other boys. He recalls: “Bullies frowned on the fact that I was a dancer. One day at secondary school they [the bullies] dunked my head in the toilet. I was like ‘why? Why?’ I was the one who would start and end the day by ringing the bell. Every time I rang I tried to avoid being chased down that long corridor with a sword or whatever they [the bullies] had in their hands. There was this big rugby lad who I fancied, but he was the bully. It was hard to deal with.”
View 5 ImagesJohannes as a young boy(Image: Instagram)
Despite all the obstacles, Johannes continued to dance. He says: “I was self taught. I used to watch lots of tapes. We did not have money for costumes. We did not have the proper facilities, but for me all that did not matter.”
Johannes, who left home to live with a dance coaching couple in a Johannesburg suburb when he was 13, was determined not to give up. He says: “In South Africa, a lot of people can dance, but for me it was about the drag. I remember seeing beautiful costumes and we went to see a Latin ballroom class and this man had on a sequinned tailcoat and I thought ‘whoah!’”
And once he pursued a dance career, he says: “It was all about the drag.” At one point, Johannes even slept in the dance studio where he worked, or in the back of taxis, as he had nowhere to live. But his mum’s words inspired him in his most difficult times. My mum said to me ‘if it is meant for you, you will never have to lift a finger,’” he says. I have always followed that. I somehow knew I was capable and that is how I survived.”
Johannes says another massive influence on his life was his dance coach. He says: “He had the same charisma as Michael Jackson. He could dance your socks off. There was something magnetic when he moved his body. He was a very strong, masculine man, and he would tap into that and lose his mind. He was Michael Jackson in my eyes.”
View 5 ImagesJohannes as a tot, growing up in the township of Zamdela in Free State, South Africa(Image: Instagram)
Sadly, he did not share the same connection with his dad, who he has spoken about being violent when he was drunk. He says: ”My dad was nicknamed Fly as he was great on the soccer field. Nobody would touch him as he was that fast. It was something he really wanted to pass onto me. When I started dancing, he thought it was a phase. When I had my first dancing competition he did not buy me dancing shoes, he bought me soccer boots. ”
He disliked his father’s treatment of his mum and says: “We had a love-hate relationship. Dad showed a side to me that I just did not understand at all.” But Johannes adds:” I know my dad loved me and I loved him too.”
A seven year stint performing on cruise ships, after teaching dance in Johannesburg, changed Johannes’ life.Afterwards, in 2014, he became a pro dancer on South Africa’s Strictly. He says: “I always thought ‘I can dance, but I am not sure if I can do TV.’ I thought I was made for the stage not the box.”
View 5 ImagesYour new Strictly hosts: Johannes Radebe, Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)
But he was wrong – progressing to the UK show in 2018 and now stepping into the hallowed shoes of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly to co-host the show. Looking back to when he joined the UK team, he says: ”I knew I was on their radar when I was on Strictly in South Africa. I was like ‘they are never going to call.’ But they did on my birthday in 2018. It was the best present. Strictly is the best show on television.”
Effusive about life, Johannes – who is currently starring in Kinky Boots in London’s West End and wrote a bestselling memoir, Jojo: Finally Home – is keen to encourage a new generation of boy dancers in Johannesburg by opening a dance academy. And, after winning the 2022 The Great British Sewing Bee: Celebrity Christmas Special, he would also love to start a clothing line.
For now, the flamboyant dancer – whose alternative career choice would be nursing – is very happy to settle for a spin hosting Strictly. Relishing his success, he shares his advice for his younger self, saying:”’Just be yourself Jojo. If you have a battle, you battle.’I would say ‘just be kinder to yourself and it gets better.’”
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