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Strictly’s John Whaite in tears after first ‘row’ with Johannes Radebe in training

The guys are the show's first all-male pairing.

By Jamie Tabberer

Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Channel 4

Strictly Come Dancing star John Whaite has revealed he’s had his first argument with pro dancing partner Johannes Radebe – although, it sounds like the politest argument known to mankind.

The star, who shot to fame as the winner of Bake Off in 2014, will make his Strictly debut this Saturday.

The pair appeared on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch earlier this week to discuss their brutal training regime – when host Steph McGovern asked if they’d rowed yet.

“Be horrible to me”

“We’ve had a little… I cried,” replied John. “He was just being too nice. I said ‘Johannes, I’m not getting it, so please talk me through the steps in a… be horrible to me, and I’ll get it!’

 
 
 
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A post shared by John Whaite (@john_whaite)


“He said, ‘no darling, I don’t do that. Then I started crying. I was like ‘I need you to push me around a bit. I need you to bully me.’ And he wouldn’t!”

Now, these are some beautiful manners.

Speaking of the stress of training, John said: “I reach mental saturation and Johannes has to either feed me Haribo or send me home!”

John and Johannes follow last year’s first same-sex Strictly pairing: Olympic boxer Nicola Adams and her pro dancer partner Katya Jones.

Strictly returns this Saturday 25 September 2021.

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