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John Whaite issued a word of warning to the new cast of the upcoming Strictly Come Dancing series during a recent TV appearance.
The baker, 34, made history as one-half of the first all-male couple on the show when he appeared with professional dancer Johannes Radebe in 2021.
In his recently published autobiography – Dancing on Eggshells – the former contestant revealed that he fell for his dance partner while filming.
He opened up about his experience on the programme during an episode of Steph’s Packed Lunch on Monday.
The Bake Off star offered his advice to the next load of celebrities hoping to get their hands on the Glitterball trophy.
‘Just don’t fall in love with your partner!’ he exclaimed to the daytime TV host Steph McGovern, 41.
He made history as the first all-male dance pairing (Picture: Getty Images)
The star shared his thoughts on what to avoid going into the show (Picture: Getty Images)
He elaborated: ‘Don’t forget your steps, don’t fall in love and remember that Strictly is a pantomime. It’s a lovely, beautiful show but at the end of the day, it’s just showbiz, it’s fake.
‘Just do it, treat it as a job, go home and think about the people that you love. Because at the end of the day, Strictly Come Dancing is not going to hold your hand on your deathbed, the people that you love are going to be there.’
The star is a resident cook on the Channel 4 fixture and chatted about his recent ADHD diagnosis, for which he now takes medication.
He told Steph: ‘The medicine is amazing, literally life-changing, and I don’t mean that in a dramatic hyperbolic way, it has changed my life and Paul (John’s partner) and my family have all said the same.
‘The only thing I now think is that if I’d been medicated when I got the book deal, would I have written the book? I don’t know that I would.
He urged contestants not to fall in love with their partners (Picture: Getty Images)
The baker said the celebs should stick to just dancing (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I know now that part of my ADHD is oversharing and while I think oversharing can be a great thing, when people can resonate with your story, I have to be constantly aware now.
‘I have to constantly think, “Am I sharing this because I believe it will help people, or because I believe it’s an important part of public interest and public knowledge, or am I doing it because it’ll strike some dopamine in my head and give me a buzz and a rush?”
‘So I have to be aware of that now, but the medication has helped, so maybe had I written it medicated it would have been a slightly different book.’
Steph’s Packed Lunch airs daily on Channel 4 at 12pm.
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Focus on your Foxtrott everyone!