Janette Manrara has been celebrating an exciting new move away from Strictly Come Dancing, with her former co-stars showing their support.
Janette's Strictly journey
Professional dancer Janette Manrara joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2013. Her first celebrity partner in the 11th series was fashion designer Julien Macdonald; they were the third couple to be eliminated. She returned for the 12th series with EastEnders actor Jake Wood, with whom she made it to the Semi-Finals and finished in 5th place overall. For the 13th series, she was paired with TV personality Peter Andre; they were the 9th couple to be eliminated.
It was then in 2020 that she left the show, but returned for It Takes Two where she took over from Zoe Ball. It was widely rumoured that It Takes Two would be facing the axe in its current form, and Janette confirmed she had left the series in a video posted on her YouTube account in June.
Leaving It Takes Two
In the video, she said: “Strictly Come Dancing has changed hugely, and I am no longer a part of It Takes Two or the main show. I’ll still be involved in other ways. But that just means that I’m free to pursue and do many other projects that I’ve always wanted to do and never really thought about doing.
“Strictly is all I’ve known for the last 14 years, so it is a bit like, ‘Oh, we’re going into a different world, a different space, how are we going to navigate that?'”
This year, Strictly has undergone some major changes after co-hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced that they would be stepping down from the BBC series. Five professional dancers were also axed in a move to bring new dancers in to join the show's first ever trio of hosts, Emma Willis, Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe.
Pantomime debut announced
Taking to her Instagram, Janette revealed her latest career move as she stars in her first ever pantomime. She announced that she'll be taking on the role of Tink in The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.
She penned: "A little bit of PIXIE DUST has landed in my life… I’m SO excited to finally announce that I’ll be making my PANTOMIME DEBUT this Christmas as TINK in The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury!
"My first EVER panto… and I get to fly off to Neverland?! Expect magic, mischief, lots of laughs, a little dancing (obviously) and ALL the festive sparkle!"
She continued: "I cannot WAIT to step into Tink’s tiny shoes and share this brand-new adventure with you all. Second star to the right… and straight on ’til morning! Who’s coming to Neverland with me?!"
Gemma Atkinson gushed: "Brilliant! Lyra will be so excited seeing you fly! (So will Aljaz tbh)" as Dianne Buswell added: "Omg you are perfect for this"
