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Strictly Come Dancing’s newly-minted host Johannes Radebe has shed light on whether or not he plans to keeeeep dancing as a professional.
But the BBC might have hinted he was about to be announced as host, after a change was made to the show’s official dancer announcement earlier this month.
The 39-year-old will sashay off the dancefloor to join Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe in a front-of-house hosting role later this year.
The trio will replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman when the BBC ballroom hit returns with a new crop of pro dancers to boot.
But Radebe has said his dancing days are not behind him, despite the exciting new gig (not that it’s quite clear what capacity that will be in).
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In a new BBC clip showing the trio get ready for their announcement photo shoot, Widdicombe, 43, asked: ‘Jojo, how are you feeling about not being part of that dancing team and having to interview them?’
Radebe replied: ‘Listen, I’m not hanging up my dancing shoes as yet.
‘That I’m definitely not doing. I cannot, I mean, what is my life without a cha cha cha?’
Widdicombe, who went down a treat with the Strictly Christmas special audience in 2024, quipped: ‘I feel the same, that’s how I feel every morning.’
However, when the list of Strictly’s returning professional dancers was shared earlier this month, Radebe was notably included in the list. He was even given the central spot in the collage of all the dancers’ headshots.
The list of Strictly Come Dancing pros returning in 2026
- Dianne Buswell
- Julian Caillon
- Amy Dowden
- Katya Jones
- Neil Jones
- Nikita Kuzmin
- Jowita Przystał
- Aljaž Škorjanec
- Alexis Warr
- Kai Widdrington
- Nancy Xu
- Carlos Gu
- Lauren Oakley
- Vito Coppola
But since then, his headshot has been removed from the official BBC announcement on their website and replaced with the Strictly glitterball logo (even though he is still listed as one of the returning pros).
This change has been made in line with Radebe’s announcement as a host, rather than a pro dancer – although whether this was done because the BBC hadn’t yet chosen Radebe for the hosting role when the dancers were announced remains unclear.
The BBC’s confirmation of its 2026 dancer line-up and judging panel came after several high-profile culls from the cast, including Michelle Tsiakkas, Luba Mushtuk, Nadiya Bychkova, Gorka Marquez and Karen Hauer.
The broadcaster confirmed there will be a roster of brand new professional dancers joining the line-up, which will be confirmed ‘closer to the return of the show’ later this year.
Back once again for the new series will be the fearsome judging panel of Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas.
Metro contacted the BBC for comment on this story.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to the BBC this autumn.
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