John Whaite has said his Strictly Come Dancing experience has been a ‘remarkable little journey’ - and he’s come a long way in his personal life too since his childhood in Wigan.
The 33-year-old will take to the BBC ballroom for the final night later this evening, where he will put everything into his final dances with partner Johannes Radebe in a last dazzling effort to claim the Glitterball trophy.
They’re the first male coupling the hit series has seen, and it’s a partnership both are incredibly proud of.
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Reflecting in previous episodes on what it was like growing up as gay, John opened up to viewers about how he was bullied as a young boy for being 'camp'.
He grew up on a farm just outside of Wigan, and would feed the cows before going to school.
John told viewers that at the age of 14, he confided in a teacher about his sexuality, but they then told his parents - which he wasn’t ready for, he says.
His family was super supportive, and his two sisters would stick up for him on the playground.
“When I was younger I was bullied at school quite a bit for being quite camp and my sisters did not put up with that,” he said.
“To have them fighting my corner, that counterbalanced every single bit of hate.”
While dancing is a new skill John has developed incredibly over the past 13 weeks, being part of a talent competition is familiar territory.
He rose to fame in 2012 after being crowned winner of the third series of the Great British Bake Off.
Since then, the chef has had a weekly cooking slot on ITV's Lorraine, was a presenter and judge on daytime cookery competition show Chopping Block, and more recently, he appears on Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Despite living in Leeds with his fiancee Paul Atkins, he visits Manchester often, but this year missed out on Pride due to isolating ready for the show.
Before joining the dancing competition, he admits, he felt apprehensive about being partnered with another man, but he’s been overwhelmed by the positive reaction from the public, which has been a show highlight for him.
“It’s been incredible, the amount of people who have messaged saying their kids can grow up in a world where two men or two women can dance together, is mega,” he told a press conference on Wednesday.
“Older members of the LGBTQ+ community have been so grateful that they’ve paved the way for this to happen, kids can grow up without being ashamed.
“We’ve had so many people say I was doubtful at first about the partnership but watching you dance, you can see it’s about that dance.
“For 90 seconds we dedicate ourselves to each other, and the world sees it for what it is, art, expression.”
Growing up in the 90s without seeing representation on TV, he believes watching what he is doing now would have transformed his life back then.
“I was apprehensive about dancing with another man, I was expecting the world to not be ready for it,” he said.
“I love how the world has changed, but I grew up with a great deal of shame.
“If we’d had two men on television dancing together without question, I think it would have changed my life.”
John also credits Strictly with giving him the opportunity to learn about himself.
“Every single week has been a remarkable revelation for me about myself, our partnership, self-confidence, what it means to be accepted," he said.
“It has been a remarkable little journey for me.”
You can watch the Strictly Come Dancing final on BBC One at 7pm.
