Janette returns to the Strictly Come Dancing team presenting Strictly's BBC Two weekday sister show, It Takes Two.
First joining Strictly as a professional dancer in 2013, Janette was paired with fashion designer Julien Macdonald, but the couple bowed out in Week Four. In 2014, she teamed up with EastEnders star Jake Wood and made it all the way to the Semi Final, thanks in part to a body-bending Salsa in Week Two.
2015 saw Janette partner with Peter Andre and make it all the way to Week 10 — they earned a respectable 31 points for their American Smooth, but an early exit during the Quickstep-a-thon sealed their fate. The following year didn’t fare as well for her though, as her pairing with Melvin Odoom in 2016 saw her cast out of the competition in Week One.
She lasted a little longer in 2017, finishing in tenth place with JLS member Aston Merrygold and returning in 2018 to lift the Christmas Glitterball trophy together. Her 2018 partner came in the form of doctor and presenter Dr Ranj Singh, and the duo made it to Week Seven of the competition.
Her time with 2019 partner Paralympic table tennis champ Will Bayley was cut short, as he sustained an injury in Week Six and was no longer able to perform. 2020 proved to be Janette’s most successful year on the dancefloor as she reached the final with popstar HRVY.
2021 saw a totally new side of the dancer, as Janette turned her hand to presenting BBC daytime show ‘Morning Live.’ This year has already been a busy year for Janette with multiple TV appearances, but she’s finally back ready to co-host on It Takes Two for another year.
Background
Janette was born in Miami, Florida and was a relative latecomer to the dancing world. After attending Florida International University focusing on finance, she worked in a bank for seven years, whilst continuing her dance training in Ballroom, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Salsa.
At the age of 24, she became a top eight finalist in the US version of So You Think You Can Dance. Since then Janette has worked on the Academy Awards, danced with Jennifer Lopez, been a principal dancer on Glee and performed in dance stage show Burn the Floor for several years.
