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

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Alutho Mbendeni. " 'I went from being a lokshin boy to being an established choreographer in the UK' – Johannes Radebe". Drum . Retrieved 20 December 2021. Who is new Strictly Come Dancing professional Johannes Radebe?". Hello Magazine. 30 May 2018 . Retrieved 14 August 2018. 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.

Fabulous flair … Johannes Radebe (centre) and company in Freedom. Photograph: Zac Cooke PhotographyRadebe 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." Jojo: 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. 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."

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. 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... Champion dancer and Strictly Come Dancing professional Johannes Radebe has captured our hearts with his mesmerising talent, bringing joy to millions of fans and wowing the most critical of judges. He is loved not only for his dancing, but for his beautiful, infectious spirit and energy. 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.” 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.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 the four years since he's been part of the popular BBC One show, Johannes, 34, has made incredible waves. From dancing a gorgeous, slow number with fellow pro Graziano Di Prima - the first same sex routine the programme had ever seen at the time - to sashaying across the floor in the most dynamic of high heels, to becoming part of the first all-male dance partnership on Strictly when he was partnered with John Whaite in 2021.