‘I said: enough of the shame!’: how Johannes Radebe fought the bullies – and became a Strictly superstar

When he began performing, as a boy in South Africa, he was told he would never win. But Radebe overcame homophobia and homelessness to become a beloved dance pioneer

If you watched Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, chances are Johannes Radebe caught your eye. He wasn’t yet known, but, through the group dances performed by the professionals, it became clear that Radebe was a star who couldn’t be contained for long. A year later, he was given his first celebrity partner (the actor Catherine Tyldesley) and performed the series’ first same-sex dance – in heels, no less – with his fellow dancer Graziano Di Prima.

Vogueing in black stilettos alongside Di Prima felt like “my coming-out party”, he says: “There was something very empowering about saying: this is who I am. I said to myself: enough of the shame, enough of hiding, just enough.” By 2021, when he was dancing with the baker John Whaite as one half of the show’s first male couple, Radebe had become one of Strictly’s most beloved stars.