Janette Manrara is determined to host 'Strictly: It Takes Two', just months after giving birth.
Janette Manrara isn't taking a long maternity leave
The 39-year-old dancer is expecting her first child with husband Aljaz Skorjanec and though it was previously reported Helen Skelton has been in talks to cover for Janette on the 'Strictly Come Dancing' spin-off show while she's on maternity leave, the brunette beauty insisted she won't be pressured into taking more time off than she wants to.
She told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “It has not been confirmed or announced yet but if all goes well, then I’ll be back on the show at the end of September.
“It is a fast turnaround but it should be fine. I think it’s important to plough forward and when you’re a working mum, you have to adjust and find ways to make it work for you and the baby.
“I feel very fortunate that I work in a team who are so excited for me to become a mum and who are so supportive. They all want to babysit. It’s good to know, both as a woman and a mum, that I’m not expected to just stay at home – I can go back to work and everyone around me will help me make it work.”
Janette - who will co-host alongside newly-announced presenter Fleur East, who is taking over from Rylan Clark - thinks she will be "excited" to return to work when the time comes.
She added: “In my head, I think I’ll be excited to get back to it. And if I’m there and covered in stains, I think I’ll be, like, ‘I’m a mum, guys… it is what it is’.
“I’ll wear sequins and really sparkly tops and nothing will be seen.”
Meanwhile, the dancer believes her and her husband's 'Twist and Shout' podcast has helped them become established as people in their own right, and they've found it very useful while preparing for parenthood.
She said: “I feel like the podcast has given a glimpse of the people we’re like – Janette and Aljaz – not just ballroom dancers.
“And with the baby coming, this series has been all about us getting advice and guidance.
“We genuinely had so many questions at the start. Even things like, ‘What do you buy first?’ and ‘What are we going to get to put in the nursery?’
Tagged in Helen Skelton Rylan Clark Fleur East