Johannes Radebe says alcohol made his father violent

Johannes Radebe said alcohol made his father violent and that he loathed him, laying bare the childhood that sat behind his rise as a Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer and choreographer. The 6ft 2in performer said the damage ran through his home in South Africa and into the bullying he faced at school.

Sasolburg and Zamdela

Born in Sasolburg in northern South Africa in April 1987, Radebe said his mother separated from his father when he and his sister were children, and he moved in with his maternal aunt. He also said he began dancing at the age of seven while growing up in the township of Zamdela, where he worked menial jobs, including at a car wash.

That background gives his current stage work a sharper edge. He is appearing as drag queen Lola in the West End musical Kinky Boots, while also remaining one of Strictly's best-known professionals, a combination that puts his personal history back into public view rather than leaving it as private biography.

Strictly and John Whaite

In 2021, Radebe took part in Strictly's first all-male couple pairing with John Whaite, and he said being lifted in the show unlocked parts of him he did not know were there. He described the moment bluntly: “Being lifted?” and then, “Ohhh, it unlocked parts of me that I did not know were there and did not know needed to be unlocked.”

He also said he faced homophobic bullying at school, including punches and shouts of “Sissy boy,” and that his love of drag came before his love of dancing. He traced that to watching his mother apply lipstick, saying, “It came from watching my mum putting on her lipstick,” and recalling that she had “one lipstick that she mixed with Vaseline to make it last longer… I admired the precision as she did it. She looked like a beauty queen.”

His mother’s role

Radebe said, “I loathed my father and I hated alcohol for a long time,” and added, “My dad was quite blatant about the way he wanted my mum gone when their marriage ended.” He said, “I hated the way he could make her cry because my mum is the love of my life.”

That bond mattered beyond memory. He said his mother’s love and affirmation “is what helped me push away the suicidal thoughts I grappled with,” after answering “Yes.” when asked whether bullying caused him to consider suicide. For readers, the most immediate takeaway is that Radebe is not just telling a personal story; he is putting specific childhood violence, rejection and survival at the center of the public figure he has become.