Strictly Come Dancing pro Johannes Radebe fought back tears during the opening night of his show after revealing his family were banned from entering the country.
The dancer had hoped his mother Jacobeth, and siblings would be able to fly into the UK from South Africa to watch his show at the London Palladium, but ‘Visa issues’ prevented them from doing so.
According to The Sun, Johannes told the audience that he hopes his family will be able to attend a later show on his House of JoJo tour once their Visas are approved.
Johannes previously detailed his struggles going up in poverty in South Africa, and the prejudice he faced for pursuing his passion for dance in his memoir.
Speaking about his family’s absence, he told the audience: ‘I was hoping that they were going to be here this evening, but [they can’t] because of visa issues.’
Strictly Come Dancing pro Johannes Radebe fought back tears during the opening night of his show after revealing his family were banned from entering the country
Choking up, he continued: ‘Don’t even start. But it’s fine, she’ll make it to Liverpool.’
In between his performances, Johannes was joined by his celebrity dance partner Annabel Croft.
She said: ‘Thank you so much for the honour to dance with your here at the Palladium.
‘This is beyond anybody’s dream, but to dance with you Johannes has been extraordinary.
‘You gave me the most wonderful joyful, and most healing experience on Strictly. And I can’t thank you enough for that.
‘You are such a special person, you sprinkle your magic everywhere, and I’m so thrilled to see it.’
Johannes and Annabel previously bonded over their grief while competing on the show together.
The former tennis ace was widowed after her husband of 30 years Mel Coleman died from cancer in May 2023, while Johannes, 36, was struggling during the series after the loss of his cousin who died by suicide.
The dancer had hoped his mother Jacobeth (pictured), and siblings would be able to fly into the UK from South Africa to watch his show, but ‘Visa issues’ have delayed their plans
Speaking to The Mirror at the event Johannes said: ‘Strictly can be hard because you never know what is going to happen’. I was dreading it because it’s six months and you don’t know who you will be paired with’.
Before adding: ‘But then I was paired with this wonderful woman. Not only did Annabel make sure I was OK emotionally, her family also opened their doors to me’.
Earlier this year Joahnnes admitted that he nearly quit the show after he was paired with Annabel.
He said he wasn’t happy with the producers partnering choice as while Annabel was coming to terms with the death of her husband while he was also also dealing with his own grief.
Speaking on the Table Manners podcast Johannes confessed that at first he was confused by the producers decision and even toyed with the idea of asking not to have a partner that year.
He explained: ‘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 committed suicide.
‘I didn’t feel anything, I wasn’t as excited as I normally would be, because I was like, this is supposed to be the most exciting period, I’ve just come back off a very successful tour. But I had to then go home [South Africa].
He continued: ‘I could have stayed out there for longer but after we buried him, I had to fly back to the UK and do my audiobook.
‘That was hard, and when Strictly started, I was just like, “Okay, just felt like I was going through the motions.”
He explained: ‘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 committed suicide.
‘I didn’t feel anything, I wasn’t as excited as I normally would be, because I was like, this is supposed to be the most exciting period, I’ve just come back off a very successful tour. But I had to then go home [South Africa].
In between his performances, Johannes was joined by his celebrity dance partner Annabel Croft, who praised him after they competed on Strictly together last year
He continued: ‘I could have stayed out there for longer but after we buried him, I had to fly back to the UK and do my audiobook.
‘That was hard, and when Strictly started, I was just like, “Okay, just felt like I was going through the motions.”
‘So you can imagine when they said the partners I was just like “ok great”. 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.
‘And yeah, they said we think that you’re the person to partner with this woman. I just said to myself, they’re reaching. I remember calling my agent, I was like, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe we should say that I shouldn’t get a partner this year because I just really need some time out.’
However, despite being concerned about how Annabel’s heartache would affect his own, the pair became best pals during the process.
‘I mean, a lot of people say, “Oh Johannes, you helped Annabel” but no, Annabel helped me,’ he said.
