Johannes Radebe didn’t have the smoothest ride to the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.
The 36 year old has written an autobiography, Jo Jo: Finally home, about his journey to the glittering dancefloor, and was on The One Show promoting it this evening.
During his chat with presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp, Johannes talked about the women in his life being his ‘pillars of strength’.
He recalled how his mother and late aunt brought him up with ‘passion and strength’ which is why he’s the man he is today (and the only person that could convince Roman to go on Strictly!).
In his early dancing days, Johannes would sleep in taxis and studio floors, and the star admitted how at the time he simply thought this was ‘what it took’ to make it.
It was only recently Johannes realised his story was one worth sharing. ‘ I never thought I had a story in me to tell,’ he said.
Over a year of writing the book – which is out on September 7 – Johannes retraced his childhood steps, and chatted to everyone from his old primary school teachers to his mother.
‘The biggest thing was hearing mama talk about things that happened in the past, and hearing her admit to certain things’ recalled Johannes, who dubbed the process both ‘good’ and ‘challenging’.
Realising that as a child he had not fully appreciated his mother’s struggles, Johannes then admitted: ‘And I was just like, “Jo, you should have been kinder to mum.” Because she is just also human and getting through things.’
Touchingly, the dancing whiz then went on to talk of the women in his life, including his late aunt Martha.
‘All of the women in my life have been pillars of strength I tell you. They led with compassion and love. That’s the reason I am the man I am today,’ he said.
He explained how Martha helped his mum walk out of her marriage by giving their family a home for a decade.
‘My mum revealed that for her to walk out of her marriage was all because of my aunt, who gave her the security to say, “I will give you a place, you will have a home in my house. Bring your children with you,”‘ he revealed
‘And that’s what she did for over a decade, looking after me and my mother and my sister.’
Johannes added that if it wasn’t for Martha, he would not be a dancer.
‘Her passing really left me devastated and it was something that I had to really deal with, and it was hard,’ he said.
The One Show airs on BBC1 every weekday at 7pm.
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