Johannes Radebe

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Johannes Radebe
Born (1987-04-27) 27 April 1987 (age 38)
Zamdela, Sasolburg Orange Free State, South Africa (now in Free State)
Occupation(s) Dancer, choreographer
Known for Strictly Come Dancing

Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) [1] is a South African dancer and choreographer. He is best known for being a professional dancer on the BBC One dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing . [2]

Contents

Early life

Radebe was born in Zamdela, Sasolburg, Orange Free State, South Africa. [3] His father, who worked for Coca-Cola, separated from Radebe's mother while he was still at school. [4]

Radebe is gay and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. [5] He has also spoken of how his race and class would count against him when competing at ballroom dancing competitions as a youngster. [4] He and his sister attended a dance school in their local area. [6] At the age of 13, he left home to live with a dance coaching couple in Gauteng province, and he attended secondary school in the Johannesburg suburb of Ennerdale. [3] [4]

While living in Johannesburg, Radebe spent some time homeless, sleeping in the dance studio where he worked or in the back of taxis. [4]

Career

Radebe began his career as a dance teacher in Johannesburg, before spending seven years dancing on cruise ships. [4]

He has won the Professional South African Latin championships twice and has been the Amateur Latin South African champion three times. [7]

Radebe was a professional dancer on South Africa's version of Strictly Come Dancing [8] from 2014, for two seasons, on SABC 3 and reached the final on both occasions. He also appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2018 on M-Net. Subsequently, he joined the touring cast of dance show Burn the Floor . [4] In 2018 the BBC announced that Radebe would join the cast of professional dancers on the British Strictly Come Dancing , although he was not allocated a partner in his first series. In 2021 Radebe was announced as a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef . [9]

In 2022, he choreographed the West End-themed Rusical on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World . [10] In December 2022, he was contestant on the Celebrity Christmas Special of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee , which he won. [11]

In 2023, Hodder & Stoughton published Radebe's memoir, Jojo: Finally Home, which became a bestseller. The book is subsequently being developed into a musical film by Helena Spring Films and Arrested Industries. [12]

In 2024, he appeared in the Doctor Who episode "The Devil's Chord", alongside Shirley Ballas in a song-and-dance number with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. [13]

Between January and July 2025, Radebe starred as Lola in the UK tour of Kinky Boots , alongside Dan Partridge as Charlie Price. [14] This marked Radebe's musical theatre debut. The production will transfer to the London Coliseum from March 2026 with Radebe reprising his role. [15]

Strictly Come Dancing

SeriesPartnerPlaceAverage score
17 Catherine Tyldesley 11th25.5
18 Caroline Quentin 8th29.0
19 John Whaite 2nd35.8
20 Ellie Taylor 7th27.5
21 Annabel Croft 4th30.8
22 Montell Douglas 6th33.3
23 Alex Kingston

Highest and lowest scoring per dance

Performances with Catherine Tyldesley

For his first competitive appearance in this show, in the seventeenth season series, he was partnered with actress Catherine Tyldesley. [16] The couple were eliminated in week 6, placing them in 11th place, with an overall average score of 25.5.

Performances with Caroline Quentin

For series 18, he was partnered with actress, Caroline Quentin.

Performances with John Whaite

For series 19, he was partnered with chef John Whaite. They are the first male same-sex pairing in the history of the UK format. The couple reached the final, where they finished as Runners-Up to winners Rose Ayling-Ellis, and her partner Giovanni Pernice.

  • Green number indicates when John and Johannes were at the top of the leaderboard.
  • *Score awarded by guest judge Cynthia Erivo.

Performances with Ellie Taylor

For series 20, he was partnered with comedian, Ellie Taylor.

  • Green number indicates when Ellie and Johannes were at the top of the leaderboard.
  • Red number indicates when Ellie and Johannes were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Performances with Annabel Croft

For series 21, he was partnered with former professional tennis player, Annabel Croft.

  • Red number indicates when Annabel and Johannes were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Performances with Montell Douglas

For series 22, he was partnered with Olympic sprinter, Montell Douglas.

  • Green number indicates when Montell and Johannes were at the top of the leaderboard.

Performances with Alex Kingston

For series 23, he was partnered with actress, Alex Kingston.

  • Green number indicates when Alex and Johannes were at the top of the leaderboard.

Tours

YearShowNo. of showsNotes
2022FREEDOMTBC1st solo show
2022 Strictly Come Dancing Live 202221 shows
2023FREEDOM UNLEASHEDTBC
2024House of Jojo†38
Key
†Denotes productions that are upcoming

References

  1. ↑ "Who is new Strictly Come Dancing professional Johannes Radebe?". Hello! . 30 May 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Who is new Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Johannes Radebe?". Radio Times . 6 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Johannes Radebe". TVSA. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Saner, Emine (22 January 2024). "'I said: enough of the shame!': how Johannes Radebe fought the bullies – and became a Strictly superstar". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  5. ↑ Brown, Steve (9 November 2018). "'Strictly's Johannes Radebe recalls the 'terrible' homophobic bullying he suffered as a child". Attitude. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  6. ↑ Alutho Mbendeni. "'I went from being a lokshin boy to being an established choreographer in the UK' – Johannes Radebe". Drum. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  7. ↑ Caroline Westbrook (30 May 2018). "Meet Strictly Come Dancing 2018's new pro Johannes Radebe". Metro. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Johannes Radebe | TVSA". www.tvsa.co.za. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  9. ↑ https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/celebrity-masterchef-2021-line-up/
  10. ↑ Brocklehurst, Harrison (12 January 2022). "Here's everything we know so far about RuPaul's Drag Race: UK Versus The World". The Tab. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "BBC One - the Great British Sewing Bee, Celebrity Christmas Special 2022".
  12. ↑ Clarke, Stewart (6 February 2024). "Film Adaptation Of 'Strictly Come Dancing' Star Johannes Radebe's Memoir In The Works: Arrested Industries & Helena Spring Films To Produce". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Strictly Come Dancing stars to make surprise cameo in Doctor Who - details | Virgin Radio UK". virginradio.co.uk. 1 May 2024.
  14. ↑ "Kinky Boots new UK tour announced starring Johannes Radebe & Dan Partridge | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  15. ↑ Wood, Alex (7 July 2025). "Kinky Boots with Johannes Radebe to transfer to the West End". WhatsOnStage.com . Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Strictly Come Dancing 2019: The full list of couples". BT. 7 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
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