The Strictly Come Dancing Professional dancer is, as Loose Women regular Coleen Nolan would say, ‘in the mood for dancin’, romancin’… so come on and hold me tight…’
Johannes Radebe joined the Loose Women panel on today’s show to talk about love, LGBTQ+ visibility – and how his relationship with his mum has gone from strength to strength since dancing with John Whaite.
Johannes, who made history as one half of the dance show’s first all-male couple, opened up about struggling with his own internalised homophobia and how it’s held him back when it comes to dating.
Kaye Adams asked, “Are you ready for love in your life?”
“Oh absolutely!” he laughed – with Judi getting her phone out to check for potential suitors. Nadia Sawalha asked, “You haven’t been in that place before – do you feel you’ve arrived there?
Johannes explained: “I feel like I have. I blame it on internalised homophobia and the fact that I have hated myself for such a long time, so I’m in a better place. I also deserve some love.”
“So what kind of hubby are you looking for so I can just write down…” asked Judi. He also talked about his joy at ‘coming out’ to his mum last year when – as they hadn’t ever had an organic conversation about his sexuality until he danced with John on last years Strictly.
“You can just imagine. I was a bit ambivalent at the beginning of it all. I remember my mama saying to me – ‘Jo, open heart, open mind, give John the best experience of his life because he deserves’, and in return I have fallen in love with my art form all over again because of the man – I love how they make them in Wigan.
“When mum said that to me, it was then that we actually just spoken about me being a gay man. Sometimes I would be like, ‘That boy’s cute’, I’m in a position to say that to my mama. We’ve never had that, she’s a very conservative woman.”
He also taught Jane to do an impressive Charleston, with tens across the board from her LW pals.
Loose Women weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV and STV. To watch the show in full visit itv.com/hub
