Strictly Come Dancing professional Johannes Radebe fought back tears during the opening night of his show after revealing his family have been banned from entering the country.
The dancer had hoped his mother Jacobeth and siblings could fly to the UK from South Africa to see his show at the London Palladium, but “visa issues” prevented this.
According SunJohannes 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 in his memoirs his struggles with poverty in South Africa and the prejudice he faced for pursuing his passion for dance.
Speaking of his family’s absence, he told the audience: “I was hoping they would be here tonight, but (they can’t) because of visa problems.”
Strictly Come Dancing professional Johannes Radebe fought back tears during the opening night of his show after revealing his family have been banned from entering the country.
With a lump in his throat, he continued: ‘Don’t even start. “But it’s okay, he’ll get to Liverpool.”
His words came as Rishi Sunak introduced stricter visa rules in his plan to curb immigration.
Between his performances, Johannes was accompanied by his famous dance partner Annabel Croft.
She said: ‘Thank you so much for the honor of dancing with you here at the Palladium.
‘This is beyond anyone’s dream, but dancing with you, Johannes, has been extraordinary.
‘You gave me the most wonderful, joyful and healing experience on Strictly. And I can’t thank you enough for that.
“You are such a special person, you spread your magic everywhere and I am so excited to see it.”
Johannes and Annabel previously bonded over their grief while competing on the show together.
The former tennis star was widowed after her husband of 30 years, Mel Coleman, died of cancer in May 2023, while Johannes, 36, struggled during the series following the loss of his cousin, who committed suicide.
The dancer had hoped his mother Jacobeth (pictured) and siblings would be able to fly to the UK from South Africa to see his show, but ‘Visa issues’ have delayed his plans.
speaking to Mirror At the event, Johannes said: “Strictly can be difficult because you never know what’s going to happen.” I was afraid of it because it’s six months and you don’t know who you’ll be paired with.’
Before adding: ‘But then I was paired with this wonderful woman. Not only did Annabel make sure I was okay emotionally, but her family also opened doors for me.”
Earlier this year, Joahnnes admitted he almost quit the show after being paired with Annabel.
He said he was unhappy with the producers’ choice of partnership as Annabel was coming to terms with her husband’s death and he was also dealing with his own grief.
Speaking on the table manners podcast Johannes He confessed that at first he felt confused by the producers’ decision and even considered the idea of asking not to have a partner that year.
He explained: ‘When they told me I was dancing with her, I thought: What are they trying to achieve? And I say this because two weeks before starting I buried my cousin who committed suicide.
“I didn’t feel anything, I wasn’t as excited as I normally would be, because I thought, this is supposed to be the most exciting period, I just came back from a very successful tour.” But then I had to go back home (South Africa).
He continued: “I could have stayed there longer, but after we buried him I had to fly back to the UK and do my audiobook.”
“That was difficult, and when Strictly started I thought, ‘Okay, I felt like I was going through the motions.’
He explained: ‘When they told me I was dancing with her, I thought: What are they trying to achieve? And I say this because two weeks before starting I buried my cousin who committed suicide.
“I didn’t feel anything, I wasn’t as excited as I normally would be, because I thought, this is supposed to be the most exciting period, I just came back from a very successful tour.” But then I had to go back home (South Africa).
Between his performances, Johannes was accompanied by his famous dance partner Annabel Croft, who praised him after they competed on Strictly Together last year.
He continued: “I could have stayed there longer, but after we buried him I had to fly back to the UK and do my audiobook.”
“That was difficult, and when Strictly started I thought, ‘Okay, I felt like I was going through the motions.’
‘So you can imagine when the partners said, I was like “okay, cool.” I really wanted to deal with it, but you never allow yourself the time to deal with whatever you’re going through in your life.
‘And yes, they said we think you’re the right person to partner with this woman. I told myself, they are coming. I remember calling my agent and thinking, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe we should say that I shouldn’t get a partner this year because I really need some time off.’
However, despite being concerned about how Annabel’s grief would affect his own, the pair became best friends in the process.
“I mean, a lot of people say, ‘Oh, Johannes, you helped Annabel,’ but no, Annabel helped me,” he said.