Anyone who thinks Strictly Come Dancing is all glitz and glamour needs to take a listen to John Whaite’s pretty grim account of his rehearsals with Johannes Radebe.
During a discussion on Steph’s Packed Lunch this week, the former Great British Bake Off winner was part of a conversation about the “Strictly curse”, which has seen many of the show’s former cast members split up with their spouses after appearing on the show, with some even getting together with their dance partners.
However, John – who has been in a relationship with his fiancé Paul Atkins for the past 13 years – has insisted things behind the scenes with Johannes aren’t anything close to steamy.
Indulging in some serious oversharing, he told presenter Steph McGovern: “When you spend that much time with them you see them warts and all.
“Like, I think I’ve burped in Johanne’s face. I might have even farted at one point. So, there’s no attraction because you see everything. Sweat and everything else.”
John’s fiancé Paul previously dismissed any “Strictly curse” concerns earlier this month, insisting: “If you could see [John] at the end of the day after a full day’s rehearsing, he can barely walk so there’s no room for anything else.
“He crawls through the door at the end of the day.”
John and Johannes are the first male partnership in Strictly history, and quickly emerged as frontrunners for the Glitterball trophy when the show returned to our screens earlier this year.
Fresh from topping the leaderboard last week with their Pirates Of The Carribean-inspired Paso Doble routine, John and Johannes will be dancing the Foxtrot to a George Michael classic on Saturday night.
But despite landing a near-perfect score last week, John insisted he wasn’t feeling the pressure.
“Me and Johannes have had an agreement from day one, in that we don’t think about the competition,” he explained. “We think about each week and our partnership.
“No matter what anyone else is doing or where they are, we just focus on what we can do, how we can do it best, and to enjoy it.
“We’ve both worked really hard, and I’m treating this as a celebration of the hard work since Bake Off. And anything else is the cherry on the cake. I’m just enjoying it week by week.”
Find out how they get on when Strictly returns on Saturday night at 7pm on BBC One. Steph’s Packed Lunch airs every weekday afternoon on Channel 4.