Johannes Radebe has reportedly quit BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing after a six year stint. The professional dancer joined the show back in 2018, but has shared that the 2024 series will be his last.
It comes as the star is set to perform in Kinky Boots The Musical for the first seven months of 2025 as well as turning his life story into a movie. He will perform over 200 shows in 25 different cities across the UK and Ireland, stretching from Dublin to Plymouth and Brighton to Edinburgh.
However, the decision to leave the BBC show comes as Johannes is said to be “overwhelmed” with his ever-growing workload.
It was reported that a source told the press: “Johannes is hugely loved on the show and there isn’t an atom of bad feeling about him leaving. Both he and the show’s bosses realise he is overwhelmed with work as a result of his soaring popularity and wish him all the best.”
They added: “For now, he just has too much to juggle alongside the contest. It isn’t just the announced projects that he’s working on, there are other opportunities in the pipeline too, which he can now explore further.”
This year, the South African dancer was paired with Olympic sprinter and Gladiator star Montell Douglas. In week 7, they found themselves in the bottom two, facing the dreaded dance off. They performed an emotional Waltz performance to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You as part of the show’s new themed week – ‘Icons’.
The dancing duo had the judges onside and survived the competiton for another week, with Johannes admitting: “To be honest with you I cried and she was there saying ‘it’s not over, the music is not over’.
“That day the teacher-student dynamic changed completely and I felt like we were partners at that moment and it showed us that we wanted to be here.”
In previous years, Johannes made history when he was paired with John Waite as the show’s first all-male couple. Last year, in 2023, the star came close to quitting before ultimately making the decision this year.
He was paired with ex-British tennis ace Annabel Croft but the professional harboured reservations about if they’d mesh well on the dance floor. However, the dancing due managed to perform their way to the semi-finals.
Reflecting on his initial reaction to being paired with Annabel, he confided: “When they said I’m dancing with her, I was like: ‘What are they trying to achieve? ‘ And I say that because two weeks before I started, I buried my cousin who [died by] suicide.”
Delving deeper into his mental state during that time, Johannes shared: “You can imagine when they said the partners I was just like ‘OK great’,” and spoke candidly about his need to confront his emotional hardships, adding: “I just really wanted to deal with it but you never allow yourself the time to deal with whatever you are going through in your life.”
Express.co.uk have contacted Johannes’ representatives and the BBC for comment.