Janette Manrara has announced she will not be hosting Strictly Come Dancing spin-off It Takes Two when it returns to screens later this year. The news comes after months of speculation as to whether she and co-host Fleur East would be returning amid high-profile revamps of the main show.
Speaking in a YouTube video of a "crazy shift" in her life, Janette confirmed: "Strictly Come Dancing has now changed hugely. I am no longer a part of It Takes Two or the main show.
"I’ll still be involved in other ways. But that just means that I’m free to pursue and do many other projects that I’ve always wanted to do and never really thought about doing."
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She added: "Strictly is all I’ve known for the past 14 years so it is a bit like, 'Oh, we’re going into a different world, a different space, how are we going to navigate that?'"
Janette, who is married to co-star Aljaž Škorjanec, replaced Zoe Ball as a host of It Takes Two back in 2021, alternating with Rylan Clark. When Rylan departed in 2023, Fleur stepped in.
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Previously, Janette was a professional dancer for eight series of Strictly, working with celebrity partners Julien Macdonald, Jake Wood, Peter Andre, Melvin Odoom, Aston Merrygold, Dr Ranj Singh, Will Bayley and HRVY. With HRVY, she reached the final for the first time.
At time of writing, Fleur has not commented on her own future with the programme, although she did speak candidly last month about her feelings towards not being considered for the main show's hosting job following Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly's departures.
Related: BBC confirms which pro dancers are returning for Strictly 2026
Back in April, it was claimed that It Takes Two would undergo a big format revamp, switching to a "visualised podcast" style akin to The Traitors Uncloaked.
Other changes made include the arrivals of Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe, who will front the main BBC One show alongside pro dancer Johannes Radebe.
On top of that, a number of professionals have departed, including Karen Hauer, Gorka Márquez, Luba Mushtuk, Michelle Tsiakkas and Nadiya Bychkova. Nadiya spoke this week about potentially returning as a choreographer.
Digital Spy has reached out to representatives from Strictly Come Dancing for comment on Janette's exit.
Strictly Come Dancing will return on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in September.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.
