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Johannes Radebe

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Johannes Radebe
Born (1987-04-27) 27 April 1987 (age 37)
Zamdela, Orange Free State, South Africa (now in Free State)
Occupation(s)Dancer, choreographer
Known forStrictly Come Dancing

Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987)[1] is a South African dancer and choreographer.[2]

Early life

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Radebe was born in Zamdela, 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

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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] in 2014 on SABC 3 and 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.

In 2022, he choreographed the West End-themed Rusical on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World.[9] In December 2022, he was contestant on the Celebrity Christmas Special of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee, which he won.[10]

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.

Series Partner Place Average score
17 Catherine Tyldesley 11th 25.5
18 Caroline Quentin 8th 29.0
19 John Whaite 2nd 35.8
20 Ellie Taylor 7th 27.5
21 Annabel Croft 4th 30.8
22 Montell Douglas

Highest and lowest scoring per dance

Performances with Catherine Tyldesley

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

Performances with Caroline Quentin

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

Performances with John Whaite

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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

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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

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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

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

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

Tours

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Year Show No. of shows Notes
2022 FREEDOM TBC 1st solo show
2022 Strictly Come Dancing Live 2022 21 shows
2023 FREEDOM UNLEASHED TBC
2024 House of Jojo † 38
Key
† Denotes productions that are upcoming

References

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  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. ^ a b "Johannes Radebe". TVSA. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "BBC One - the Great British Sewing Bee, Celebrity Christmas Special 2022".
  11. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing 2019: The full list of couples". BT. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.


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