Johannes Radebe

Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African-born British dancer, choreographer and presenter. He is best known for being a professional dancer on the BBC One dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing.

Radebe was born in Zamdela, Sasolburg, Orange Free State, South Africa. His father, who worked for Coca-Cola, separated from Radebe's mother while he was still at school.

Radebe is gay and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. He has also spoken of how his race and class would count against him when competing at ballroom dancing competitions as a youngster. He and his sister attended a dance school in their local area. 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.

While living in Johannesburg, Radebe spent some time homeless, sleeping in the dance studio where he worked or in the back of taxis.

In February 2026, Radabe became a British citizen.

Radebe began his career as a dance teacher in Johannesburg, before spending seven years dancing on cruise ships.

He has won the Professional South African Latin championships twice and has been the Amateur Latin South African champion three times.

Radebe was a professional dancer on South Africa's version of Strictly Come Dancing from 2014, for two seasons, on SABC 3 and reached the final on both occasions. He also appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2018 on M-Net. Subsequently, he joined the touring cast of dance show Burn the Floor. 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. In December 2022, he was contestant on the Celebrity Christmas Special of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee, which he won.

In 2023, Hodder & Stoughton published Radebe's memoir, Jojo: Finally Home, which became a bestseller. The book is subsequently being developed into a musical film by Helena Spring Films and Arrested Industries.

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.

Between January and July 2025, Radebe starred as Lola in the UK tour of Kinky Boots, alongside Dan Partridge as Charlie Price. This marked Radebe's musical theatre debut. The production will transfer to the London Coliseum from March 2026 with Radebe reprising his role.

In 2026, it was announced that Radebe would be one of the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing alongside Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis.

Highest and lowest scoring per dance

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

• *Score awarded by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro

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

• *Score awarded by guest judge Anton Du Beke

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.

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.

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.

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

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

For series 23, he was partnered with actress, Alex Kingston.

• Green number indicates when Alex and Johannes were at the top of the leaderboard.
• Red number indicates when Alex and Johannes were at the bottom of the leaderboard.