Strictly star reveals he almost quit the main line-up after bosses told him who his celebrity partner was
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Johannes Radebe nearly walked away from the show after he was paired with Annabel Croft.
The professional dancer was coming to terms with the death of a family member when he was partnered with Annabel, who had not long lost her husband.
Johannes' cousin had taken his own life and the funeral was just two weeks ahead of Strictly training.
Speaking on the Table Manners podcast, Johannes spoke about his fury at the producers for the crude pairing.
"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," he said.
"You know, 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.
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"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," he said.
"That was hard, and when Strictly started, I was just like, Okay, just felt like I was going through the motions."
"And yeah, they said we think that you're the person to partner, this woman. I just said to myself, they're reaching. I remember calling my agent," he explained.
"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 Annabelle but no, Annabelle helped me," he said.
Annabel's husband Mel Coleman tragically passed away from cancer the same year that she joined strictly.
The former Tennis champion even dedicated one of her performances to her husband - leaving audience members in tears.
Judges were moved after Annabel blew a kiss to the sky after her emotional performance.
While appearing on spin off show Strictly: It Takes Two with pro dancer Johannes Radebe, she shared that doing the dance was an "out of body experience".
The 57-year-old said: "It was very emotional but I probably didn't realise when we were in it how much the significance of it would resonate with so many people.
"I have been quite overwhelmed by the response to it. When we were in it I felt like it was almost an out of body experience."
She also added that her dancing partner Johannes understands grief too, and she couldn't picture sharing that moment with anyone but him.
