Strictly star Janette Manrara is determined to return to hosting spin-off It Takes Two this autumn, just months after giving birth.
We revealed earlier this year that BBC bosses had held talks with Helen Skelton about filling in for Janette while she was on maternity leave.
But the dancer this week insisted she will not bow to public pressure and take more time off work than she wants to.
The 39-year-old, who is expecting her first child with fellow former Strictly pro Aljaz Skorjanec, said: “It has not been confirmed or announced yet but if all goes well, then I’ll be back on the show at the end of September.
“It is a fast turnaround but it should be fine. I think it’s important to plough forward and when you’re a working mum, you have to adjust and find ways to make it work for you and the baby.
“I feel very fortunate that I work in a team who are so excited for me to become a mum and who are so supportive. They all want to babysit. It’s good to know, both as a woman and a mum, that I’m not expected to just stay at home – I can go back to work and everyone around me will help me make it work.”
Janette, who stepped back from Strictly to co-host It Takes Two with Rylan Clark in 2021, added: “In my head, I think I’ll be excited to get back to it. And if I’m there and covered in stains, I think I’ll be, like, ‘I’m a mum, guys… it is what it is’.
“I’ll wear sequins and really sparkly tops and nothing will be seen.”
Janette will be working with Fleur East when she returns to It Takes Two after the singer was this week revealed as Rylan’s replacement.
And she told how the second season of her Twist and Shout podcast with husband Aljaz, 33, has helped them deal with becoming first-time parents.
“I feel like the podcast has given a glimpse of the people we’re like – Janette and Aljaz – not just ballroom dancers,” she said.
“And with the baby coming, this series has been all about us getting advice and guidance.
“We genuinely had so many questions at the start. Even things like, ‘What do you buy first?’ and ‘What are we going to get to put in the nursery?’
“The best advice we’ve been given, I think, is that everything is a phase.
“So, when it gets really tough and something feels like it will never end, it will. When that’s happening, you have to cherish those magical moments.
“There are so many doubts and insecurities, and we put so much pressure on ourselves to have it all together, but no one has a blueprint of how this works. So, if someone is offering you help, it’s important to take it.”
