Johannes Radebe has spoken candidly about his new role as a host of Strictly Come Dancing, admitting that while he is "living my best life," the job comes with its challenges. The 39-year-old, who was a professional dancer on the BBC One show from 2018, made the comments during an appearance on Thursday's (October 22) episode of It Takes Two.
Radebe now presents Strictly alongside Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe, following the departure of veteran hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly last year. He was quizzed on the show by his former dance partner Ellie Taylor, who hosts It Takes Two.
A Nerve-Wracking Experience
"I am living my best life," Radebe told Ellie, before adding: "Listen, it's been wonderful, my darling, really, really wonderful but I'm not going to deny the fact that it has been nerve-wracking. Two and a half hours of live television is no child's play."
Ellie lightheartedly responded: "Also, half an hour is also quite hard," to which Johannes agreed, "It very much is," as they both laughed.
The dancer also paid tribute to his co-hosts, saying: "It's been lovely, and what I think that has been lovely about it is the love and support that I have around me. Having to work with Emma and Josh, who have been so kind and held my hand through this experience, I have to say thank you to them, because I don't know how I would have done it. But also, I'm at home; how can you not have fun at home?"
The Best Part of the Job
Radebe's role as Strictly host involves interviewing the celebrity contestants and their professional partners on the upstairs balcony after their performance and the judges' feedback from Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood. He called this the "best part of his job."
"I think receiving them after the judges' comments, you know they are in such a vulnerable position, you would know, you come up those stairs and you've done what you have done, I don't look at their performance," Radebe explained. "I consider everything that they have been through that week, and what I want to do is to make them feel seen and celebrated in that moment, and I want to be the one saying to them, 'You have achieved something this week let's celebrate', so it's a real privilege."
Strictly returns on Saturday for week five of the competition with 12 remaining contestants. Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon were the latest couple to be eliminated. Last week, Delta Goodrem was injured and unable to perform, while Cach Mercer and his partner Maddie Ingoldsby, along with Jaime Winstone and her partner Carlos Gu, tied with 34 out of 40 at the top of the leaderboard.
Strictly: It Takes Two airs Monday to Friday at 6:30 PM on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday nights at 6:30 PM on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, followed by the Sunday results show.
