Strictly’s John Whaite received touching message from Michelle Visage ahead of historic debut
John Whaite will be part of Strictly Come Dancing’s first-ever all-male dance partnership. (BBC)
John Whaite has revealed that he received a special message from Michelle Visage ahead of his Strictly Come Dancing debut.
Speaking on the Channel 4 programme Steph’s Packed Lunch, where he is a resident chef, Whaite expressed his fears about the joining Strictly, where he’ll be one half of the first-ever all-male pairing.
He said: “Knowing my luck, I’ll fall down the stairs like Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her, rip my knickers, let out a little trump, there’ll be sequins all over the place.”
Luckily, he has been receiving tips from RuPaul’s Drag Race legend and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Michelle Visage.
Whaite said: “When it was announced, Michelle Visage messaged me giving me loads of tips. She said: ‘Start stretching now’.”
The gay Great British Bake Off winner is set to find out who he will be partnered with on Strictly Wednesday (8 September), but is sworn to secrecy until the series kicks off on 18 September.
He said: “There are four lads who I think are tall enough for me to dance with. There’s Graziano, Kai, Johannes and Aljaz.
“They’re the four who I think are tall enough for me, but they might give me a shorter dancer and put him in heels. I’m really hoping I get to do a dance in heels.”
Whoever he’s paired with, Whaite said that becoming one half of the series’ first-ever all-male dance partnership was a “massive honour”.
“If I’d seen two lads or lasses dancing together on Saturday night TV and nobody made a fuss about it, I don’t think I’d have grown up with quite so much shame for being gay,” he said.
“I just hope there are kids out there watching who don’t even question it, who watch it and think, I am who I am and I’m comfortable with that, and I’m accepted and loved and can be loved for who I am. It’s a massive privilege.”
John Whaite has been prepping for Strictly Come Dancing by doing the Samba in a thong
John Whaite also revealed to host Steph McGovern that he had been doing some unusual preparation for the beloved dance competition, putting on a special show for his partner Paul.
He said: “I did do a samba for Paul in my thong. It was during the heatwave… He said you need to watch this YouTube tutorial and learn how to do the Samba, so I did it and he filmed it.
“I looked pretty good actually! But apart from that I’ve not done anything.”
