Johannes Radebe went from looking out of his depth in the first live Strictly Come Dancing show to becoming the star of the second, according to Metro columnist Adam Miller. The professional dancer, who joined as a presenter alongside Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe, faced heavy criticism after a mistake-laden opening episode, but delivered a vastly improved performance in Movie Week.
From nervous newcomer to star of the night
Miller wrote that Johannes had transformed from being "nervous, rushed and at times looking totally out of his depth" to being "utterly sensational" just seven days later. He credited the turnaround to presumably sleepless nights and endless rehearsals, and noted that Johannes's timing issues from the first week had been resolved.
In the opening live show, Johannes was criticised for reeling off voting details before the vote was even open, which made his chats with contestants fall flat. By the second show, he was "smooth, kind" and visibly moved by the performances, finally showing why producers chose him over Rylan, Zoe Ball and Angela Scanlon.
Emma and Josh also step up
Miller noted that Emma Willis had been "doing all the heavy lifting" in the first show but that the second episode saw a conscious effort to give more to Josh, who also appeared more comfortable. Johannes, however, was singled out as having the hardest job of the three, working alone upstairs without an autocue and having to respond to judges' comments live.
Other standout performances
The column also highlighted other transformations from the second live show, including Shaun Wright-Phillips's improved Jive after a clunky Cha Cha, Love Island winner Cach Mercer's Samba, and Paralympian Sarah Storey's Charleston, which improved by nine points. Celebrity hairdresser Chris Appleton was tipped as the likely first elimination.
Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 7.10pm on BBC One.
