‘It's the most fun time of the week!'

Why Janette Manrara is ‘super-excited’ to be the new host of Strictly’s spin-off show

- VICTORIA WILSON

STRICTLY: IT TAKES TWO

MON-FRI / BBC2 / 6.30PM / EPS 6-10 of 60 / ENTERTAINMENT

She’s the ‘pocket rocket’ who has been burning up the dance floor for the past eight years, and now Janette Manrara is relishing the next chapter in her Strictly story as the new host of companion show It Takes Two.

The popular Cuban-American professional dancer, who reached the final last year alongside pop star HRVY, is sharing presenting duties for the weeknightly BBC2 spin-off series with self-confessed Strictly superfan Rylan ClarkNeal, who joined the team in 2019.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Janette, 37, who is married to Slovenian pro Aljaz Škorjanec, chats to TV Times about hanging up her ‘sparkly dancing shoes’ and why her dad is her toughest critic…

Congratulations on your new role!

I’m super-excited, but really nervous as well. I’ve always wanted to get into presenting, and dancing is all I’ve done my whole life, so for me to be doing a talk show that’s based around dance, I can’t ask for a better combination.

How are you feeling about replacing Zoe Ball, who hosted the show for a decade?

I remember when I first met Zoe, she made me and my then-dance partner, Julien Macdonald, feel so welcome. I thought I’d love to be able to do that for someone one day.

My dad loved watching Zoe on It Takes Two, and when she announced that she was leaving, he said, ‘Well, I don’t know if anybody’s ever gonna be as good as Zoe; whoever steps in has really big shoes to fill.’