Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe: How moving to the UK changed his life
Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe says he shied away from being his true self “for the longest time” but moving to the UK where dancing is “deemed cool and respected” changed that.
The South African is arguably the show’s biggest professional star – known for his joyful, vivacious personality as much as his moves, since joining the cast in 2018.
Radebe reached the final in 2021 in a same-sex partnership on the hit BBC One programme with John Waite, and has been partnered with celebrities Montell Douglas, Ellie Taylor and Caroline Quentin.
“For the longest of time, I’ve shied away from [what’s] innately me. I’ve always kept it away from the world. I didn’t want the world to see it, because I didn’t want to be teased,” says the 38-year-old, who grew up experiencing homophobic bullying. “But now I’m like, Oh honey, come in! Come watch the show!
“Since I came to this country, I realised the impact of dancing and how far and wide it reached and how dancing was deemed cool and respected, it gave me a sense of belonging.
“It affirmed me to say what I’ve been doing all these years has been correct, because there’s a nation that will applaud and enjoy and be fulfilled by what you do,” says the dancer and choreographer, who is currently starring in the musical Kinky Boots and touring the UK.
Hailing from the town of Zamdela, Sasolburg, “I didn’t grow up with lots of money,” Radebe says, “I quickly realised that we didn’t have much at home as soon as I took on dancing, when it involved travel costs and all those fees. That’s when my family sat me down and said, ‘It’s either you go and dance and we don’t eat, kind of thing’.
“A lot of African talent was discouraged by that – that’s why you don’t see many of us around.”
Living relatively close to a metropolitan city meant the family did have running water though, something he discovered lots of South African communities don’t have, while on a trip to a community in the province of Limpopo alongside WaterAid, in support of the charity’s Water Can’t Wait campaign.
He says his success (he was two-time Professional South African Latin Champion and three-time South African Amateur Latin Champion before becoming a household name in the UK) is down to hard work, timing and other people.
“I didn’t get here by myself,” he says, humbly. “Everybody’s talented where I come from, there’s better dancers than me! They were never afforded the opportunity. It’s a real struggle.”
It was the community that rallied around Radebe and his family to pay to attend big dance championships when he was as young as seven. “Everyone was involved, contributing five rand [20p], 10 rand [40p], whatever they had. People cooked, they were like, ‘We’ll make food for him [to take]’.”
Johannes Radebe is supporting WaterAid’s Water Can’t Wait campaign calling for action on the water and climate crisis.