After Judi Love made history as the first star to bring twerking to the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom, her co-star John Whaite has also proved he’s got the moves.
The former Great British Bake Off champion was on the set of a photoshoot for Attitude magazine when he showed off his bottom-shaking abilities as he posed in a pair of tight white shorts.
And while the Strictly judges were not on hand to give their verdict, John got the thumbs up from those on the shoot with “10s across the board”.
Judi and her dance partner Graziano Di Prima wowed Strictly fans when they included the move in the Samba routine earlier in the series.
Following her elimination last Sunday, the Loose Women star said she was proud to have made history on the show, and also challenged judge Craig Revel Horwood to “a little twerk-off and let me lift up my scoreboard”.
John and his dance partner Johannes Radebe made history earlier this year when they became Strictly’s first-ever all-male partnership.
In the joint interview to accompany the shoot, John explained that when he first signed up, he was so concerned about social media trolling that he wanted to dance with a straight man.
“I was honoured, of course, because not only had I wanted to do Strictly ever since I saw it when I was a little boy… but also, as soon as I found out, I felt a little bit anxious,” he told the magazine.
“I knew that it was an important thing to do, that it was hopefully going to change the way TV is, change the way that children feel when they watch TV – it’s massive – but I was expecting to get a lot of hate, like [people] sliding into the DMs and saying, ‘You’re disgusting’ and that kind of thing.”
He continued: “At first, I said, ‘Can you put me with a straight partner?’ because I [believed] that that would be the only way it would be accepted, and then, about a month before we were partnered up, me and you, I [thought], actually, I want it to be Johannes; it has to be Johannes, because it’s such an important thing for both of us, it would be wrong for it to be anyone but Johannes.
“The fear in my wanting to please people got in the way and let me say, ‘Can you put me with a straight man?’.”
Johannes has revealed he had similar reservations, after a previous routine he performed with Graziano was the subject of complaints from viewers.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of this, and I’ve always cheered same-sex partnerships, and I’ve done things to add to this moment, I would like to believe,” Johannes told Attitude.
“But in that, there was criticism and fear and negativity that we received when I danced with Graziano, complaints and stuff like that. I didn’t want that again.
“Then I remember thinking, what if it’s successful? I realised that there’s people who want to see it, that would love to see it more than what I’m feeling.”
This Saturday will see John and Johannes will be tackling a Rumba, with John commenting that he’s anticipating “complaints” as their routine is so “intimate”.
Read John and Johannes’ interview in full in the new issue of Attitude, on sale now.
