Johannes Radebe has spoken candidly about his new role as a presenter on Strictly Come Dancing, admitting that hosting the live show has been "nerve-wracking" despite his enjoyment of the job.
The 39-year-old, who served as a professional dancer on the BBC One series from 2018, has swapped the dance floor for the studio. He now fronts the programme alongside Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe, following the departure of long-serving presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly last year.
Johannes on the challenges of live TV
During Thursday's instalment of It Takes Two, Johannes was questioned by his former dance partner Ellie Taylor about his feelings regarding his presenting duties. The trio have faced some criticism from viewers questioning the need for three hosts.
"I am living my best life," Johannes 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 jokingly interjected: "Also, half an hour is also quite hard," as Johannes agreed, "It very much is," as they both laughed.
Praise for co-hosts and the "best part" of the job
Johannes then delivered a heartfelt 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?"
His responsibilities as host include interviewing the celebrity contestants and their professional partners on the upstairs balcony after their performance and the ensuing critiques from judges Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood, which he described as 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," Johannes 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."
Upcoming week five
Strictly returns on Saturday for week five of the competition with the 12 remaining contestants prepared to shine on the dance floor following Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon's latest elimination.
The previous week saw Delta Goodrem sustain an injury that left her unable to take to the floor, while Cach Mercer and his partner Maddie Ingoldsby, together with Jaime Winstone and her partner Carlos Gu, shared the top spot on the leaderboard with matching scores of 34 out of 40.
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.
