Weeks away from making his West End musical debut, Johannes Radebe has spoken out on his future with Strictly Come Dancing. Does the fan favourite’s new role mean he’s about to leave the BBC show after seven series?
Radebe is set to reprise the role of Lola in Kinky Boots when it launches at the London Coliseum next month, after previously winning rave reviews when it toured the country last year.
It’s on from 17 March until 11 July, and speaking on The Graham Norton Show, he reassured fans that he has no plans to step down from Strictly.
“I will do that show for as long as they will have me. It’s a magical sparkling world. I love it,” he said.
On Kinky Boots, in which he’ll star opposite X Factor winner Matt Cardle, he said: “I feel like it was meant to be. I secretly told people for a long time that I would love to do it. The way it came was by luck and magic, but I turned it down the first time.
Ollie Rosser
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“But then I thought ‘give yourself this opportunity’ so, I got a singing and acting coach two years before I auditioned.”
The work clearly paid off, as the show received glowing reviews on tour in 2025. Kent Online wrote: “Anyone who’s watched [Strictly] knows that Johannes can dance; that’s a given. What I didn’t expect was the voice.”
In a similarly glowing critique, Theatre Reviews North said: “There is no doubt that Johannes’ presence makes the show special. He brings a level of emotion that provides great authenticity to his performance.”
BBC
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Strictly is set for plenty of change this year as it is, with replacements for hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly yet to be revealed.
One person who’s appeared to rule himself out is Ben Shephard, who said in a recent interview with Metro: “Hosting Strictly? Goodness me! Saturday nights. I’ve never even done Strictly [as a contestant]. I feel like anybody that hosts that show needs to have a bit of an insight into what it is like to go through the mill.”
Alan Carr and Amanda Holden also ruled themselves out of taking the gig, as has Bradley Walsh.
The Graham Norton Show airs on Friday nights on BBC One and iPlayer.
Kinky Boots runs at the London Coliseum from 17 March. Tickets are available here.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online; specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who’ll listen.