Strictly Come Dancing star Janette Manrara has admitted she had to take extra measures to conceal her pregnancy during the show’s latest arena tour.
Although Janette stepped away from her role as a professional dancer in 2021, she’s still very much a member of the BBC show’s family, hosting companion series It Takes Two and, more recently, taking on presenting duties on the Strictly tour.
Last month, she and husband Aljaž Škorjanec announced they were expecting their first child, and revealed during an interview on Wednesday’s Lorraine that she had a bit of a task on her hands to hide the early stages of her pregnancy while on the road.
“It was tough to keep hidden, because obviously on the Strictly live tour, we’re on stage, and we’re out every night, and we’re having the best time,” Janette explained.
“So I made sure to wear this very big yellow dress – oversized, too! Just in case. But all of them started to get an [inkling], an idea that I was [pregnant], [asking], ‘Are you sure you don’t want a glass of wine with this tonight?’.”
In an interview with Hello! magazine published in February, Janette shared that she and Aljaž had been trying to conceive “for the past couple of years”.
“Nothing was happening, so we thought IVF was the next best thing for us to do,” she told the magazine. “I turn 40 later this year and the NHS offers really good services to women under 40.
“The doctor said that as soon as I got my period we would start injections, but my period never came.”
She added: “To know that this little miracle just came from a wonderful night we had together is amazing.
“I think the baby decided to make mum and dad panic a bit before saying, ‘OK, fine, I’m coming up now’.”