Johannes Radebe

Radebe was born in Zamdela, Sasolburg, 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]

In February 2026, Radabe became a British citizen.^[7]

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.^[8]

Radebe was a professional dancer on South Africa's version of Strictly Come Dancing^[9] 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.^[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.^[10]

In 2022, he choreographed the West End-themed Rusical on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World.^[11] In December 2022, he was contestant on the Celebrity Christmas Special of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee, which he won.^[12]

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.^[13]

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.^[14]

Between January and July 2025, Radebe starred as Lola in the UK tour of Kinky Boots, alongside Dan Partridge as Charlie Price.^[15] This marked Radebe's musical theatre debut. The production will transfer to the London Coliseum from March 2026 with Radebe reprising his role.^[16]

In 2026, it was announced that Radebe would be one of the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing alongside Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis.^[17]