Strictly's Janette Manrara is 'no longer part' of spin-off show amid huge shake-up (original) (raw)

Janette Manrara has been involved with Strictly Come Dancing for 14 years.

Janette Manrara has announced she will not be hosting Strictly Come Dancing's spin-off show this year as BBC bosses continue to shake-up the dance show ahead of the 2026 series. Many fans have been left 'gutted' by the announcement as the dancer has been connected with the show for over a decade.

The 42-year-old was a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing from 2013 to 2020, before going on to co-present Strictly's It Takes Two in 2021 alongside Fleur East. However, after spending 14 years with the dance show, Janette has announced she will not be continuing in the role.

Uploading a new 'Talks with Janette' video onto Youtube yesterday (June 3) titled The Reinvention, Janette shared with her fans that she is going through a "huge shift" in her career. In the video, she confirmed: "Strictly Come Dancing has now changed hugely, I am no longer part of It Takes Two or the main show.

"I'll still be involved in other ways but that means I'm free to kind of pursue and do many other projects that I've always wanted to do and never really thought about doing, but Strictly is all I've ever known for the last 14 years."

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Sharing how the switch in her career has been an odd change, Janette added: "So it is a bit like 'oh, I'm going into a different world, a different space. How are we going to navigate that?'"

Many fans have since left comments on social media sharing their heartbreak about Janette leaving the show. One person wrote: "Sad you going from Strictly, I will miss you", while another added: "Gutted you aren't the new Strictly presenter....too many opportunities waiting for you."

A third person also commented: "Sorry to see you leave Strictly, as Bruce would say, you were my favourite. Saw you in Chicago in Southend though and you were great. Hope to see you on a stage again soon!"

Along with her role as a professional dancer and hosting It Takes Two, Janette also presented the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour for a number of years across the country.

Janette isn't the only fan favourite to be leaving the show ahead of the 2026 season as Strictly announced that five professional dancers will not appear in this year's line up.

Shocking many fans of the BBC show, it was announced earlier this year that Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, Michelle Tsiakkas, Gorka Marquez, and longest serving female professional Karen Hauer will not be returning to the Strictly ballroom.

While their replacements have yet to be announced, the BBC did confirm that Dianne Buswell, Julian Caillon, Amy Dowden, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Jowita Przystał, Aljaž Škorjanec, Alexis Warr, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley and Vito Coppola will continue to take part in Strictly this year.

On top of this, it has been confirmed that there will be no changes to the Strictly judges for the new season. Once again making their return to keep an eye on every kick and flick are Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Head Judge Shirley Ballas.

However, the most talked about change of the next Strictly series comes in the form of the new hosts for the main show. Late last year long standing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced that they would be stepping away from the glitz and glamour of Strictly.

While the rumour mill was rife with who would be stepping into the presenting duo's shoes, it was announced in May that the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing will be Emma Willis, Comedian Josh Widdicome, and professional dancer Johannes Radebe.

Tess has already given the trio her seal of approval as she wrote following the highly anticipated announcement: "The secret's out and it's a good one. What a dream team."