Jojo: Finally Home - My Inspirational Memoir - THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER (2023)

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Read more: Strictly Come Dancing's Johannes Radebe: 'I could relocate to Birmingham - I'm looking for a mortgage' Finally Home is his never-before-told story, where he shares the experiences and challenges he's faced - from growing up in Zamdela, a township in South Africa, as a young boy with a passion for dance (and playing with Barbies), to becoming the star he is today. Dance transformed Jojo's future, giving him a tool to express himself - but as you will learn, this was not always easy. Alutho Mbendeni. " 'I went from being a lokshin boy to being an established choreographer in the UK' – Johannes Radebe". Drum . Retrieved 20 December 2021.

I hope this book spreads joy and bring a message of hope to anyone who reads it. May it leave you with many experiences and feeling exhilarated at the end. Let it activate the spirit of empathy, love and compassion towards one another."Strictly is generally such a love-in, but inevitably Radebe encounters trolls. Especially after he performed one routine in three-inch heels: “I had to stop social media,” he says. “What took me by surprise was it was messages from mums.” Telling him he shouldn’t be dancing with a man? “Saying it’s disgusting. And you can imagine what makes me sad – they have kids.” You mean, what if their child also wants to wear a sequinned tailcoat one day? Radebe laughs. “Of course it’s amplified by social media. If those women were standing in front of you, would they say those things to your face? I choose to respond to them in my actions,” he says. “Freedom Unleashed is my response. There’s no shame here. The world will adjust.” In person, Radebe has bright smiling eyes and his magnanimous warmth is contagious. Comedian Ellie Taylor, his most recent Strictly partner, tells me that “the absolute delight he takes in movement and the sheer happiness you can see it brings him is so obvious it’s impossible not to share in that”. Taylor brims with praise for Radebe, for everything from his sense of style (“He turns up dressed like an absolute king every day even if he’s just sitting in a taxi and going to rehearsals”) to his sweet nature and dedication. “His talent and his hard work are endless.” For his first competitive appearance in this show, in the seventeenth season series, he was partnered with actress Catherine Tyldesley. [9] The couple were eliminated in week 6, placing them in 11th place, with an overall average score of 25.5.

In 2022, he choreographed the West End-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World. [8] Series Absolute delight’ … Radebe and Ellie Taylor in the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing. Photograph: Guy Levy/BBC He later broke new ground on Strictly in the show's first-ever male same-sex partnership with John Whaite in 2021. In the most recent series, he finished in seventh place with Ellie Taylor.

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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. Radebe is a champion Latin and Ballroom dancer and one of the nation’s favourite professionals on "Strictly Come Dancing". The publisher said: “His mesmerising talent has brought joy to millions of ’Strictly’ fans and wowed even the most critical of judges. Johannes – known affectionately as Jojo – is loved not only for his dancing, but for his passion and warmth away from the dancefloor too." As the show progressed, we learnt more about Johannes' move to big city Johannesburg to follow his dancing dreams. His cast of stunning dancers were a joy to watch on the night, each complimenting him perfectly. As the performance closed, we were all on our feet. I glanced around the auditorium and couldn't see a single person still seated. The applause was deafening and went on for longer than I've ever heard at a theatre show. I was grinning ear to ear (as was Mum). The dancer will share his inspiring story of rising through the ranks of South Africa's ballroom circuit to find international success once he moved to the UK.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.Fabulous flair … Johannes Radebe (centre) and company in Freedom. Photograph: Zac Cooke Photography I hope this book spreads joy and brings a message of hope to anyone who reads it. May it leave you with many experiences and feeling exhilarated at the end. Let it activate the spirit of empathy, love and compassion towards one another. Love Jojo.” A poignant moment in the middle of the show; Johannes, who is openly gay, spoke about how homosexuality is still illegal in almost 70 countries. He stood still in powerful silence with his fellow dancers, before later flying onto the stage in an incredible cape depicting flags from every country where the inhumane law is still in place.

We left that night, arm in arm, chatting about our favourite bits (all of it, if we're honest) and how we'd see the entire performance again in a heartbeat. While I live in Birmingham, Mum lives down in Gloucestershire, not far from Swindon in Wiltshire where the next performance is showing on Wednesday, April 13. Now there's an idea... I'm sure all the fans say this, but I am definitely, absolutely Strictly Come Dancing's number one fan. The glitz, glamour and sparkle on my telly is just the highlight of my year.

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Radebe also takes the mic and proves a charming MC, telling his story from post-apartheid Zamdela to 2020s London, thanking many of the people who helped get him here, and appealing for freedom for everyone to be able to be who they are, not just pointing out there are 70 countries in the world where homosexuality is still illegal, but then sweeping on stage in an outfit of gold shimmer with a flowing train made of flags from those countries. The politics is heartfelt, the delivery inspired. We didn't need telling twice. Sitting up in The Alexandra's wonderful Grand Circle, we had the perfect view of the set - which we later learnt was designed entirely by a very talented lad from Birmingham, who JoJo gushed about during the performance. Go Brum!