Johannes says: "I had to grow up very fast. Johannes said being part of the first all-male couple on Strictly meant 'a great deal' to him (Credit: BBC)ĭo you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror here. Johannes grew up in the township of Zamdela and left home at 12 to move in with a family who had a dance school 50 miles away in Johannesburg. Because I’m gay.' She said, 'You are my son and nothing changes.'" The last words he heard was that he was a f****t. "I said, 'He was murdered because he is gay. He said: "We addressed it after the passing of a friend of mine. It wasn't until he was 31 that he discussed his sexuality with his mum Jacobeth. "It worries me that they are raising kids around so much hate and discrimination." Some of the people leaving these messages were mothers. I've been called a monkey and told I'm disgusting. Last year, I had messages saying, 'Don’t come back to Africa, you're a disgrace'." He continued: "People are still being killed because they're gay.
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Johannes and John made it to the final of the latest series (Credit: BBC / Guy Levy) "It represented everything I was and the very thing I'd been running away from, being visible and educating people that there is nothing wrong with being gay." Johannes says: "Being part of the first all-male couple on Strictly meant a great deal to me and was very courageous of the BBC. Then last year he got to the final with Great British Bake Off star John Whaite. Johannes began on the BBC show as a group dancer before partnering former Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley and actress Caroline Quentin. To go about that you need a partner and a strong relationship.
But it's a responsibility I'd like to share. "It would be beautiful to have children one day. I’m not travelling as much as I used to – I’m in one place. "That stability has brought on this new perspective on life. It's perhaps because I now call the UK home. I don't know what has changed, but something has definitely clicked.