Strictly Come Dancing's Johannes Radebe has revealed he contemplated quitting the show following an unexpected pairing with former tennis ace, Annabel Croft, in last season's lineup.
Despite their success, reaching the coveted semi-final stage and capturing the hearts of both audiences and judges alike, Radebe initially harboured reservations about the production team's decision to pair them together.
Speaking on the Table Manners podcast, Radebe revealed that two weeks before the start of Strictly he buried his cousin after he took his own life.
The professional dancer explained that he was grappling with his own personal grief and the thought of supporting Croft through her own emotional journey following the loss of her husband, Mel, was too much.
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.’
“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.’”
Despite his reservations, Radebe’s said being paired with Croft was a blessing, and became best friends as they supported each other through their personal grief.
“I mean, a lot of people say, ‘Oh Johannes, you helped Annabel’ but no, Annabel helped me,” he said.
Croft’s husband, Mel Coleman, died last May just 16 weeks after he was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Following her Strictly journey, she paid tribute to Radebe for giving her “a reason to get out of bed” in a lengthy Instagram post.
