Fans of Strictly Come Dancing have been anxiously predicting the future of professional dancer Johannes Radebe – and now a fellow pro has hinted that he’s set to quit

Fears that Johannes Radebe may quit Strictly Come Dancing after seven years of service have intensified thanks to a casual comment from a fellow professional dancer. The pro has been on quit-watch by fans ever since his 2025 elimination from the hit dance show.

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The 38-year-old professional dancer was paired with TV star Alex Kingston, 62, for the 2025 season. However, they were eliminated at the end of November, becoming the eighth couple of the year to be booted from the ballroom.

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Fans have been fretting ever since that he might never return to the Strictly studios, choosing instead to waltz away from the series rather than dance again in 2026. Fans that have been hunting for clues over his future plans have noticed a potentially telling comment from fellow professional, Lauren Oakley, 34.

Following the grand finale of the 23rd season of the show on Saturday night, Johannes took to Instagram to share a reflective image of himself taking in the stage. Sitting on the floor, the dancer gazed out across the dancefloor while a couple danced in front of the audience.

Sharing a simple caption, the dancer wrote: “The best team on telly. @bbcstrictly,” alongside a disco ball emoji. The snap quickly clocked up tens of thousands of likes – and hundreds of comments, with a message from Lauren among those posted.

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The Brummie dancer wrote “Boo” alongside a red heart emoji – with the brief comment clocking up dozens of likes of its own. However, some fans fear the exchange could be another suggestion Johannes plans to quit the show – as “boo” can be a term of disappointment.

One follower wailed in the comments: “Please don’t leave Jojo. Next year is your win, I just know it.” And another typed: “there has been rumours you are leaving I hope it’s not true you are my favourite dancer on the show.your smile lights up the whole studio.”

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Any fans hoping to be reassured by the BBC may need to look away, however, as representatives refused to confirm or deny that Johannes will be invited back to the 2026 season. Asked for comment, a spokesperson said it was not possible to reveal “who may or may not be returning for the next series”.

Fears of Johannes’s exit ignited after he and Alex were voted off the show last month by the judges. The duo failed in a dance off against EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal and her dance partner Julian Caillon.

Speaking to host Tess Daly in an exit interview, Johannes said: “Bye to my Strictly family, I love you. To my Strictly family, I’m forever grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He went on to praise Alex, telling the ER star: “Thank you, because I have never grinned this much in my life over the past couple of weeks with you.

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“Thank you, Alex, for being a trooper. I appreciate the laughs and I’ll hold on to the memories. As far as the dancing goes, I think we’ve achieved what we both wanted to achieve.”

But many took to social media to express a concern that Johannes’s choice of words signified an intention to turn his back on the show. One wrote at the time: “JoJo sounded like he’s leaving in that speech.” And another wrote: “So sad to see them go. So sad that it looks like our queen JoJo could be leaving Strictly, going by his speech. He is so special – would be a massive miss, but he is a star born for the stage.”

Johannes has been a part of the Strictly Come Dancing cast since 2018 – making Strictly history in 2021 when he competed with Bake Off star John Whaite, 36, as the show’s first same-sex male pairing.

That year, he performed at his best, making it all the way to second place, but the boys missed out on the top spot to EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis and her partner Giovanni Pernice.