Yahoo News Janette Manrara reveals heartbreaking moment she felt she "didn't belong" on Strictly
Strictly Come Dancing star Janette Manrara has shared the heartbreaking moment she felt she "didn't belong" on the show.
The professional dancer joined the cast of the hit BBC competition in 2013. She announced her departure from the show in 2020, before replacing Zoe Ball as the co-host of Strictly spin-off It Takes Two in 2021.
Speaking on Aimee Fuller's Monday Mile podcast, Janette detailed her experience with imposter syndrome during her first year on Strictly.
The series notably saw Janette's husband Aljaž Škorjanec lift the glitterball trophy with model Abbey Clancy.
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After facing the dreaded dance-off multiple times with her celebrity partner Julien Macdonald, Janette said she thought she was a "complete failure" who didn't "deserve this job".
"It was hard, because obviously it was my first year ever on Strictly, and Aljaž's first year on Strictly – he was dancing with Abbey Clancy and I was dancing with Julien Macdonald," she explained.
"Julien Macdonald and I were in the dance-off every single week for four weeks until we got eliminated.
"And then Aljaž went on to win it with Abbey and it was so hard for me emotionally, because I obviously wanted to do a good job and impress a new country, a new audience of people, new co-workers that I had never really worked with before.
"I just felt like I was a complete failure, like I didn't do a good job, I didn't belong there. I thought, 'I don't deserve this job'."
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Janette continued: "Then at the same time, I was just so happy for Aljaž that I internalised all of it, which ended up making it worse. I didn't talk about how bad I was feeling, because I didn't want to put it on him, and I didn't want him to feel bad for me, because I wanted him to enjoy his glory and his moment.
"So it was a really, really tough time to feel like you weren't enough or you didn't do a good job, and then, at the same time, be happy and elated for your [future] husband."
In July, Aljaž announced his surprise return to Strictly for its 20th anniversary – a year after Janette gave birth to their daughter Lyra.
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Aljaž and his partner Tasha Ghouri topped the leaderboard for a second week in a row during the show's Movie special on Saturday (October 5).
They scored an impressive 34 points for their elegant Rumba to Billie Eilish's Oscar-winning Barbie song 'What Was I Made For?'.
Elsewhere on the podcast, Janette shared how "happy" she was to see her husband back on the dance floor, saying: "I'm so happy he's back, I think the whole country is. He's back where he belongs.
"He shines on that dance floor. He loves to teach. It was amazing to watch him, and I was there at the [first] live show. After he finished his dance with Tasha, I got teary-eyed. I got emotional. It was just so beautiful to see him back doing what he loves."
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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