Janette Manrara: The Banana

Summary

Sort Your Life Out Unpacked – Janette Manrara: The Banana

BBC Sounds | Host: Dilly Carter | Guest: Janette Manrara | Aired: April 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this heartwarming and lively episode, tidying expert Dilly Carter sits down with dancer, TV presenter, and mum Janette Manrara. As part of the “Sort Your Life Out Unpacked” series, Janette brings three mystery items from her home—a banana, her special Strictly Come Dancing boots, and a family cross. Through these objects, Janette shares stories of her Cuban heritage, journey to stardom, organizational habits, and the meaningful memories she holds close. The discussion is sprinkled with practical home tips and an infectious warmth, offering listeners both inspiration and a few laughs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Janette’s Approach to Home Organisation

• Settling in Post-Move:
  • Janette reveals she’s nearly finished unpacking after a year in her new London home, with only one box left ([02:36]).
  • “I'm pretty organized in general. And I like feeling fresh—getting rid of the old and in with fresh and new. It's hard to do that with my husband because he's the opposite.” ([02:53])
• Tackling Toddler Clutter:
  • Janette is selective about which of her daughter Lyra’s things she keeps: “I’m letting it go. I’m keeping like, the little things, like…the first dress she ever wore. That’s very important.” ([03:20])
  • She mentions a company that turns special baby clothes into teddy bears or pillows—an idea she plans to use ([03:29]).

Home Truths: House Style and Family Dynamics

• Warm and fun: That’s how Janette describes her home ([04:09]).

• Wardrobe Woes:

  • Janette shares a wardrobe with her husband, Aliash, who owns more clothes and is less tidy than she is ([04:34]).
  • She practices minimalist clothing philosophy: “If I’ve worn it once and haven’t seen it in another nine months, then I’m getting rid of it, you know?” ([04:58])

• Realities of Parenting:

  • She frequently tidies her daughter’s play area and quips about “crayons on the wall” being a less-fun art project ([05:34]).

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The Three Mystery Items

1. The Banana

• Revealed at [06:16].
• Aliash’s Voice Note ([06:40]):
  • Aliash jokingly complains: “Jeanette likes to have bananas with literally everything. Soup, pasta, salad, obviously dessert—but yeah. Why?”
• Janette’s Story ([07:16]):
  • Growing up Cuban, fried plantains were standard with meals, but in their absence her mom substituted bananas. “So I kind of just developed the taste bud for it through the years…My personal favorite…is spaghetti bolognese with a banana. I love it.” ([07:43])
  • She clarifies: “The only thing I can’t do banana with, I’ve learned, is any kind of seafood.” ([08:16])
• Host Dilly’s own banana history ([08:48]):
  • Raised in a Sri Lankan orphanage, Dilly was called “Kessel” (banana) because of her love for them.
• Food and Heritage Discussion ([09:24]):
  • Janette describes being the firstborn in her Cuban family, growing up in Miami, sharing a single room with her parents and brother, and cherishing warmth and love over material possessions ([10:17]).
  • "You don’t need things, you just need love and connection.” ([11:08], Janette)

Memorable Quote:

"My personal favorite—and every Italian out there is gonna kill me…is spaghetti bolognese with a banana."
— Janette ([07:43])

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2. The Strictly Come Dancing Boots

• Revealed at [12:32]

  • Nude, sparkly, peep-toe boots, size 2.
  • These custom-decorated boots were worn in Janette’s only Strictly Come Dancing final—the last series she performed as a professional, making them extremely meaningful ([13:02]).

• Strictly Stories:

  • “I remember dancing that final, and I felt it in my heart, in my body—‘I think this is my last one.’” ([13:57])
  • She shares the emotional difficulty of the final series: bubbling with separate partners, barely seeing or touching Aliash ([14:49]).

• Career Trajectory ([15:22])

  • Discusses early TV experiences in Miami, dancing since age 18, and the pivotal moment of joining “So You Think You Can Dance,” which set her on a new life path ([18:07]).

• Meeting Aliash ([20:05])

  • Met during “Burn the Floor” in London; initially not interested, but Aliash was persistent (“One day I’m gonna marry you. You watch.”).

• Storing Sentimental Items ([21:07]):

  • The special boots are currently kept under the bed, but Janette considers displaying them beautifully (host suggests lighting and shelves).

Memorable Quote:

"I remember Aliash…turned to me really angrily and he was like, ‘Watch, One day I’m gonna marry you. You watch.’ And I just went, ‘Okay, sure, wait for it.’…And here we are."
— Janette ([21:02])

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3. The Family Cross

• Revealed at [23:01]
  • It’s a gold cross, originally belonging to Janette’s great-grandmother, and her most cherished item.
• Family Connection ([23:28]):
  • Janette was raised by her great-grandmother while her parents worked; she feels like a “photocopy” of her ([24:02]).
  • The cross was left to her when her great-grandmother passed away—a symbol of protection and love.
  • “Before every single live show, I always do a quick prayer to her and say…‘abuela, cuidame’…I just feel like she’s always by my side.” ([25:06])
• Use and Storage:
  • Janette does not wear the cross except for her wedding day, when she had it sewn into her dress ([25:21]).
  • Safeguarded in a jewelry box with other sentimental pieces.

Memorable Quote:

“If guardian angels exist, she’s definitely mine.”
— Janette ([25:06])

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Family & Identity: Motherhood, Heritage, and Confidence

• Language at Home ([26:02]):
  • Janette tries to teach Lyra Spanish, while Aliash uses Slovenian, but navigating three languages is tricky.
• Motherhood’s Impact ([26:47]):
  • “After becoming a mother to Lyra, I realized you need to lead by example…I have never felt more confident in my own skin and in who I am. Bananas and all…” ([27:25])
• Did Janette Always Want to be a Mum? ([27:49]):
  • She did not initially want children, being career-focused, but the desire grew in her late 30s: “It wasn’t until I got into my late thirties…and I just had this insane feeling…how wonderful would it be to just be sat here watching telly with our little baby.” ([28:38])
  • After unsuccessful IVF attempts, Lyra was conceived naturally, a cause for great emotion.

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Expert Tips and Practical Home Advice

• Jewelry Cleaning ([29:12]):
  • Janette uses toothpaste and a soft toothbrush to clean her gold cross and wedding ring ([29:38]).
  • Guest expert Ewan (called in at [30:07]) confirms it’s fine for gold and silver. For extra sparkle, Dilly soaks jewelry in vodka ([31:48]).
• Banana-Skin Hack ([30:32]):
  • Ewan shares: Use the inside of a banana peel to polish plant leaves for extra shine, thanks to potassium ([30:32]).

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The Big Decision: Keep, Donate or Sell? ([32:16])

• Keep: The cross (“easily…keep the cross”).
• Sell: The banana (“sell the banana…If I could just buy a new one.”)
• Donate: The Strictly boots, ideally to a young dancer with big dreams.

“As long as…I’ll make sure to clean them really good first before I do.”
— Janette ([32:54])

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Janette’s Happy Place ([33:00])

• “My happy place, honestly, is in a rocking chair in Lyra’s nursery…when I’m rocking her to sleep and she falls asleep in my arms…That rocking chair has been part of our lives…It’s the most special place in the whole house.” ([33:04])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You don’t need things, you just need love and connection.” ([11:08], Janette)
• “Bananas and all, you know, I’m just—it’s amazing…and it’s a nice feeling to have because it took a lot to get here. But I do hope that I’m setting an example for her…” ([27:25], Janette)
• “If guardian angels exist, she’s definitely mine.” ([25:06], Janette)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:36] – Settling into the new home and decluttering struggles
• [06:16] – First item revealed: Banana (+ Aliash’s voice note)
• [09:24] – Discussing Janette’s Cuban heritage and family history
• [12:32] – Second item revealed: Strictly boots
• [13:57] – Emotional Strictly final and changing career direction
• [18:07] – Dance career ‘sliding doors’ moment and career leap
• [20:05] – Meeting (and marrying) Aliash
• [23:01] – Third item revealed: the cross from her great-grandmother
• [26:47] – Motherhood’s transformative effect
• [29:38] – Jewelry-cleaning hacks (featuring Ewan)
• [30:32] – Banana skins as plant polish
• [32:16] – Which item to keep, donate, or sell
• [33:04] – Janette’s happy place: Lyra’s nursery rocking chair

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Summary & Takeaways

This episode blends practical home organization tips with poignant reflections on heritage, family, and sentimental keepsakes. Janette’s stories remind listeners that a fulfilling home is built on love, memories, and personal rituals, rather than material abundance. Her unique banana-and-bolognese habit, sparkling dance boots, and treasured family cross offer a window into her rich cultural roots and values—and inspire all of us to rethink what we hold dear.

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For more organizational hacks and celebrity stories, listen to "Sort Your Life Out Unpacked" on BBC Sounds or watch on iPlayer.

Transcript

[Tyler West]

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[Jeanette Manrara]

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[Dilly Carter]

This is Sort yout Life Out Unpacked with Me, Dilly Carter. Every episode, a celebrity guest will hand over three boxes, each containing an item from their own home. We'll unbox them together and hear plenty of memories and stories too. Along the way, there'll be simple tips to help you sort your own life out. My guest this episode grew up surrounded by Cuban culture and music, and though she studied finance, her career went in a very different direction. She's now a triple threat, a dancer, a TV presenter and a mum. In fact, she was a beloved pro on Strictly Come Dancing for eight series and now hosts It Takes Two. Recently she moved back down south to London, which she says feels like home. It's the multi talented Jeanette Manrara. Welcome.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Wow, can I just use that intro everywhere I go in the morning when I wake up and walk into the

[Dilly Carter]

room, we can print it off and put it on your mirror and I love that.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Triple threat dancer, presenter and mother. Yes. Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

And you've just moved to London. Tell me, are you still living out of boxes or are you super organized?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Well, I am no longer in boxes. This month is a year that we've been living in the house.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And one box. Only one box left.

[Dilly Carter]

One box left after one year. That's not bad going. That's not bad going. And did you declutter before you moved? Were you very good at that? Are you someone that's quite ordered? Are you?

[Jeanette Manrara]

No, I'm pretty organized in general. And I like feeling fresh. I like feeling, like, getting rid of the old and in with fresh and new. It's hard to do that with my husband because he's the opposite.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And with the toddler in the house, and she's growing so fast, so her clothing specifically, and toys. She's changing so quickly, and I'm not keeping up with it as fast I possibly can.

[Dilly Carter]

And how are you with keeping her stuff? Are you someone that's keeping everything just in case, or you keeping things you let go?

[Jeanette Manrara]

I'm letting it go. I kept. I'm keeping, like, the little things, like, for example, the first dress she ever wore that very important.

[Dilly Carter]

Memory items.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Memory items. And I found this amazing company. I need. I need to do it where you can send them your baby's clothes. And they do a whole teddy bear or a pillow or something made out of the special fabrics.

[Dilly Carter]

We've done that a lot in the show. It's a lovely way to keep hold of memories is to turn them into a pillow. Turn them into a t. Teddy.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Exactly. So I'm hoping to do the same with some of her clothes.

[Dilly Carter]

Oh, that's a nice idea. Oh, so you're good. This is nice.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I'm giving it. Yeah. I'm not Stacy.

[Ad Voice]

No.

[Jeanette Manrara]

She's iconic. But I'm doing my best in my own little way. Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

Stacey will make something out of anything. Absolutely anything. Before we go through your boxes, I am going to ask you a few quick fire home truths.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Okay.

[Dilly Carter]

How would you describe your home in a sentence?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Warm and fun.

[Dilly Carter]

Warm and fun. I love the idea of that. I can imagine that. Warm and fun. Okay. If I turned up unannounced, what room would you ban me from entering?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, easy. Our wardrobe.

[Dilly Carter]

Wardrobe.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Wardrobe. I'd close the door and say, do not go in there. Do not.

[Dilly Carter]

I can imagine that your wardrobe is just full of the most incredible sequined outfits.

[Jeanette Manrara]

The thing is, Aliash and I share our wardrobe.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And believe it or not, Aliash has more clothes than I do.

[Dilly Carter]

Oh, interesting.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And he is not as tidy as I am. When that room is clean, I Mean, that means the whole house is immaculate.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah. And are you good at going through your clothes?

[Jeanette Manrara]

I am really good and I'm trying to even be better because I like. Less is more. I'm definitely a minimalist when it comes to clothing.

[Dilly Carter]

Starting to be more about quality as

[Jeanette Manrara]

a quantity or bits that, like, if I know I really like them and I'm gonna wear them over and over again. I keep. If I've worn it once and I haven't seen it in another nine months, then I'm getting rid of it, you

[Dilly Carter]

know, so we just need to teach Ali Ash. Yeah. What about your home are you most proud of?

[Jeanette Manrara]

That is tidy. It is tough with a toddler, though. I mean, I think I tidy up her play area more than I tidy up any other part of the house throughout the day.

[Dilly Carter]

That is part of being a parent, though, isn't it?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yes.

[Dilly Carter]

We put ourselves under a lot of pressure that, you know, everything needs to be tidy, especially when it comes to our children as well. But kids are kids, so as much as I'm very much for order and structure, you know, there is going to be disarray.

[Jeanette Manrara]

My favorite moment with her, though, has been crayons on the wall, which wasn't very fun. She's really liking in coloring and painting now, so we're managing where she does that in that.

[Dilly Carter]

Let's just try and contain the. The crayons to a piece of paper.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay. Shall we have a look at your first box?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, yes.

[Dilly Carter]

I am so excited to see what's in this. Do you want to pass it to me?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, you're going to open it?

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah, I'm going to open it. I want to see what's in.

[Jeanette Manrara]

You open it.

[Dilly Carter]

This is like my Christmas Day.

[Jeanette Manrara]

It is gone.

[Dilly Carter]

You know, this is exciting for me. Let's have a look and see what's in.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Okay. Did you know what we were gonna bring?

[Dilly Carter]

No.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

No, I don't know what you're bringing. That's how, you know, I wanna be surprised.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Okay, good.

[Dilly Carter]

You know, and I think it's more exciting and it feels like Christmas for me. And so then I'm like, okay, so in Jeanette's box is a banana. Oh, my goodness, there is. So tell me why I've got a banana in my hand, Jeanette. And actually, in fact, I think we have a voice note about the first item. So can we play that?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Hello, I'm Aliash, Jeanette's worst half. I am so excited that Jeanette is doing set your life out podcast because I do have a little bone to pick, which is bananas. Jeanette likes to have bananas with literally everything. A soup, pasta, salad, obviously, in a dessert. That's probably the only way that I would put it, but, yeah. Why?

[Tyler West]

Why?

[Dilly Carter]

Why?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Have a good one. Oh, why? What a nice little voice note. Why?

[Dilly Carter]

So we all want to know why.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah. So, long story short, I'm Cuban, and in Cuban cuisine, it's a very, very popular side dish to have is fried plantains. And if we didn't have the fried plantains, my mom would just give me a banana, and then that ended up happening with every meal. So she'd give me. I don't. And it started from baby. Baby. She'd give me baby food, and then follow it up with a baby banana puree food. And so I kind of just developed the taste bud for it through the years, and I. My personal favorite. And every Italian out there is gonna kill me. I've had this conversation with Vito and a few of them on Strictly. They're Italian, and they're all like, no way is spaghetti bolognese with a banana. I love it.

[Dilly Carter]

Spaghetti bolognese with a banana on?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah, I love it. Chopped up on the top or no, Chopped up on the side? Yeah, I'll just say grab bit on the side with a bit of spaghetti bolognese, and I have it.

[Dilly Carter]

Do you eat the two together? You don't, like, have the banana for pudding?

[Jeanette Manrara]

No, I have it all together.

[Dilly Carter]

Is it just spaghetti bolognese or any pasta dish?

[Jeanette Manrara]

The only thing I can't do banana with, I've learned through the years, is any kind of seafood.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay. So you can't have, like, just with

[Jeanette Manrara]

seafood in a banana.

[Dilly Carter]

So you can have a porn linguini and then. And then a.

[Jeanette Manrara]

No, it doesn't feel right.

[Dilly Carter]

Doesn't feel right. That is so weird. I know.

[Jeanette Manrara]

If it's like a red spaghetti.

[Dilly Carter]

Spaghetti bolognese and banana, that's absolutely fine.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Exactly.

[Dilly Carter]

I mean, there's going to be so many people now going to try bolognese and a banana.

[Jeanette Manrara]

It's an acquired taste. I will say.

[Dilly Carter]

You could be the new hestan. You could be creating something that no one knows about.

[Jeanette Manrara]

There's a lot going on with the banana.

[Dilly Carter]

Well, actually, interestingly enough, I was brought up in an orphanage for the first three years of my life, and I ate so many bananas that in the orphanage, they used to call me kessel, which in Sri Lankan is banana.

[Jeanette Manrara]

It's banana.

[Dilly Carter]

So the Sri Lankan word for banana is kessel, and that's what they used to call me look, Kessel girl.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Look at that.

[Dilly Carter]

Because I used to love a banana. Banana. And I also have bananas for breakfast every day on my porridge, chopped up. I don't have them with my spaghetti

[Jeanette Manrara]

or my pasta, but I do have

[Dilly Carter]

them on my porridge. So I also love a banana.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I mean, I want to say give it a go, but I have a feeling I'm definitely not going to like it. It's just because I. I grew up with it.

[Dilly Carter]

So. So tell me about your Cuban heritage and you know, what, what that's meant to you growing up and how much of it you still is instilled in your.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I feel. I mean, I was born in Miami, so technically I'm American, but. But I'm first. Firstborn of my Cuban family. And my whole family's Cuban, literally. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, obviously mom and dad, everybody's Cuban. And I was raised learning Spanish first, so I spoke Spanish before I learned English. I learned English at school. I grew up listening to all the popular Cuban music and dancing and Music was always part of our family in the house. We just. Any reason to have a party, any reason to get together and dance. It was tough because they were an immigrant family. So I share at one point a room with my mom and my dad and my brother, the four of us in one bedroom in my grandparents house. So it wasn't like an apartment, it was literally a room.

[Dilly Carter]

So all of you together?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah. It was tough financially for us growing up. I remember I had like one pair of, one pair of shoes for years. And I kept like trying to figure out ways to extend them because my feet were starting to get cramped in the front like or same pair of jeans for a long time. And my mom would just extend the bottom until as soon as you couldn't anymore. But we grew up even though we didn't have a lot, we had so much warmth and happiness and love in our house. And my mom and my dad, even though we didn't have a lot, they just made sure that whatever money we did have, we saved. And we went to Disney World or we went to the beach for a weekend, you know, and just kind of created magic in the best way they possibly could with what they had. So I feel like I grew up in the most wonderful, wonderful home.

[Dilly Carter]

And that's so important, isn't it? And I think it's such a lesson to so many of us that actually we don't need a lot of things.

[Jeanette Manrara]

You don't need things, you just need love.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

You need love and connection.

[Dilly Carter]

How do you feel that your house compares now to growing up?

[Jeanette Manrara]

So my mom and she will happily admit this. My mom was never a great cook, so my grandmother did a lot of the cooking. But that meant that my mom loves tidying up. So our house was always immaculate growing up. And I think now they say you turn into your mother.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah. Yes they do.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah, I'm turned into her cause I am not a good cook.

[Dilly Carter]

Do you have people over though to entertain or do you? We do.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I mean we don't have any family here in the world, but we do love to host Alyosha and I, so we have friends over all the time.

[Dilly Carter]

Do you have bananas on a side plate already?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah. Actually this is a funny story. When I first met Aliash's parents, when we first started dating, he told his mother, mom, she loves a banana with everything. And on the first dinner that we had in his parents house, I died laughing. And I was trying to be so respectful because I'm meeting his mom for the first time. But I walked into the dining room and I knew exactly where I was sat because there was a banana right next to my plate.

[Dilly Carter]

They put it over there for you.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Bless her. And he's like, I told her that you love a banana, so she just had it ready for you. So that when you said, eat your food, you can have your banana.

[Dilly Carter]

Shall we have a look at your second item? Yes. So this is a bigger box.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

Let's see what's going to be in here. Is it going to be another type of. Oh, okay. This is very different to a banana. This is an incredible pair of very sparkly boots. They're nude, they're slip on, they've got a peep toe and they've got these beautiful diamantes up the front and down the back of them. Now I can only imagine that these are a pair of shoes from Strictly.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yes.

[Dilly Carter]

These are stunning. These are 35. So you're, you're two.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I'm a two.

[Dilly Carter]

Oh my gosh. So I'm a three and a half, four. But you, you are teeny tiny.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Shoe shopping is not fun for me, I'll be honest.

[Dilly Carter]

But we get all the good sales.

[Jeanette Manrara]

We do get good sales.

[Dilly Carter]

That's a bonus. So these shoes are, they're like a little booty. Let's say they're like an ankle boot.

[Jeanette Manrara]

They're very comfortable. It's meant to look like you're almost not wearing a boot. But then I put all the diamonds on it. You can definitely tell Me.

[Dilly Carter]

So did you customize these?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yes. So these shoes. The story with these shoes is very, very special. I only ever made one final as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, and she was mad. But it was also my last year ever as a professional dancer. And these were the boots that I wore in my only show dance that I ever did on Strictly Come Dancing, which also happened to be on the last year that you did that. I was a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing.

[Dilly Carter]

So it's meant to be.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah. And it was a strange moment because I remember dancing that final, and I felt it in my heart, in my body. I was like, I think this is my last one. And I didn't know why, because I didn't want to leave the show. Yeah, I definitely. If I could have, I would have danced forever on Strictly. Yeah. But I don't know, something inside me was telling me, oh, this is the last one. Something is shifting. Something's changing, so. And then to get to the final with Harvey and do that dance and wear these shoes, it was just kind of such a. Such a special, special moment for me.

[Dilly Carter]

How did it feel doing your last dance, Strictly?

[Jeanette Manrara]

I cried my eyes out. I felt I didn't know. It didn't even matter that we didn't win. It wasn't about winning. I was just so happy to be in a final because I had never got that chance to get that far in the series. And I remember looking over at all the professionals. Cause it was so strange. It was a tough season for everyone because Aliash and I had to bubble with our partners. So I didn't see Aliash for 12 weeks. Wow.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay.

[Jeanette Manrara]

But I would see him every Friday and Saturday in the studio. But I couldn't hug him. I couldn't touch him. I almost would have rather not seen him at all. It would have been easier. But having being in the studio near him and not being able to hug him was really tough. So when we got to this final, everyone was emotional because we got through to the end of the series. I looked over at Aliash and he was crying his eyes out. And so it was a very happy, emotional night. And then you add this really bizarre, strange feeling that I felt in my heart. It was gonna be my last one. So, yeah, there were a lot of tears. A lot of tears.

[Dilly Carter]

I mean, your career has gone from strength to strength, you know, from being a dancer. I mean, you started off, you were gonna. You were on a Spanish TV show, weren't you?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah, I started on a show. It's called Saba do gigante, which means

[Dilly Carter]

the sound of you speaking Spanish.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And it means, basically, Giant Saturday. That's the name of the show. And I started out as a kid on that show. I was 12 years old, and they used to have just kids that would come on and talk about adult subjects. Like, I remember my first conversation was about a library. Why? I don't know. But I love talking about biblioteca. That means library in Spanish. So the TV show was really my outlet. And so every. I would say, maybe twice a month, every other Saturday, they'd let the kids come on and do a perform. Musical theater performance for the audience. And it was just a magical time in my life. And I did that all the way up until I was 18. But obviously I turned 18. I wasn't a kid anymore.

[Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I mean, I still look like a kid because of my size.

[Dilly Carter]

So lucky. No, you're so lucky. You look so gorgeous.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, so do you. What's he on about?

[Dilly Carter]

We're not dissimilar ages, are we?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah, I'm 42 and proud.

[Dilly Carter]

Yes.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

As you should be.

[Jeanette Manrara]

It's not. It's not about. For me. It's funny because it's not about how I look. Especially since I stopped dancing once I left Strictly to start presenting, It Takes two. I wasn't on my legs eight hours, nine hours, ten hours a day. So my body. And then also I gave birth. So that really changed my body as well. And I realized more than when I was in my 20s and my 30s. I love my body.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

You know, in a different way. Not necessarily how I look, but how I feel in it. Do I feel strong? Do I feel flexible? Can I move the same? You know, as much as I possibly can, the same way that I used to and I do. And that. That just. That is my relationship with my body, you know, more than anything else, which

[Dilly Carter]

is really positive and really healthy. I think more of us women should have that. Yes.

[Jeanette Manrara]

We're all beautiful. We really are.

[Dilly Carter]

We need to embrace ourselves.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

So when you were presenting on this show before, is that what gave you the spark to think? Right. I want to get into TV.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I turned 18, and the TV show very kindly was like, we love you, but, you know, we can't use you for the kids program anymore. But I got the bug. And at the time, the gentleman that would do the dance part of the musical theater program opened up his own dance school. His name was Manny Castro. And Manny basically came to me and my parents at the time and was like, look, your daughter's very talented and I think she could dance professionally. And I remember thinking, no way at 18 years old can I begin a dance career. People have Aliash, for example. He's been dancing since he was three. You know, and I was a smart bunny. I have a degree in finance. I studied at university and so I was working in a bank. I remember I started going to university and I started dancing as much as I possibly could. So I had zero social life.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah, just learning to dance.

[Jeanette Manrara]

But dance was my escapism. From 18 to 23, I just danced. Dance, dance, dance. Every hour of the day that I possibly could. If I wasn't at work or at uni, I was dancing. And then when I turned 23, so youo think youk Can Dance is a famous.

[Dilly Carter]

Huge.

[Jeanette Manrara]

They had it here in the uk, came to Miami and I auditioned for it. And the first year, I got all the way to the final round, then didn't get on the show.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

But then the second year they came back and now I was so sad that it got so close the first time. I almost didn't go that second year to the audition because I was like, I don't know if I can cope with another. No, but I need to try because they're here. And then I did it and I got on the show and it just kind of. That was like that kind of sliding doors moment in my life where if

[Dilly Carter]

it hadn't have happened, if it hadn't

[Jeanette Manrara]

happened, I don't know if I'd be sat here with you having this conversation today. And then my boss at the bank called me. She goes, now, I know you've gone on and become this dance superstar, but your job is here and it's waiting for you and we'd love to have you back if you'd like to come back. And that was such a hard decision to make because it was letting go of stability, letting go of consistency, to just go off on a whim and just see what happened. So I had saved all my money from the tour and I looked at my parents for advice, and my parents have always been dreamers. You have to remember they were immigrants who left their country to dream of a better life. So they have this vision, very beautiful vision, of what life should be in terms of following your dreams and not letting them go. And they just said, they said, you will regret every single day of your life if you don't try. Now the bank's not going to go anywhere. You can work at the bank all of your life, but your experience now as a dancer. And you've got to jump on the train while it's. While it's hot now.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah, go.

[Jeanette Manrara]

So I did from the age of 24, which is when I moved to LA, to now, I just look back and I go, my God, what a ride. Yeah, it's been incredible. Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

And where did you. Is that where you met Annie Ashe?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yes. So I auditioned for Burn the Floor while the show was on Broadway in New York City, and then they cast me to join the show when it then came to the West End here in London. And that was in 2011. Oh, my gosh. And I remember Aliash was not part of the cast yet. They were auditioning some new people for another cast that they had, like, another cast that was gonna be doing similar shows somewhere else. And so he had to come to London to audition. And I met him then in London, and I had just broken up with a boyfriend that I had at the time. And I was like, zero interested in dating or meeting any man. And I was just like, nope. And I think because I was so blocking him, it made him want the challenge more. I remember there was once, right towards the beginning, he kept asking me for a drink and I just turned to him and I said, do you know we're just friends? Can you just stop this? I'm just your mate. Let it go. And he turned to me really angrily and he was like, watch, One day I'm gonna marry you. You watch. And I just went, okay, sure, wait for it.

[Dilly Carter]

And here we are.

[Jeanette Manrara]

He was right.

[Dilly Carter]

He was so right. Where do you keep these?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Under the bed.

[Dilly Carter]

Under the bed. They're not in a special box or anything?

[Jeanette Manrara]

No. I know. I probably should, shouldn't I? Maybe when I fully, fully retire from dancing, I'll put them up in a pretty frame or something. I'll do something special. Yeah, maybe, But I'm still using them. Don't put your nose near them.

[Dilly Carter]

No, I won't get too close. I mean, I think with everything that we love, especially shoes, they. They're such a great item to store beautifully. Like, you can have them displayed because it's lovely to walk into a room

[Jeanette Manrara]

with some nice lighting.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah, exactly. Some little LED lighting under the shelves. You can have all your shoes displayed and then you can enjoy them rather than being under your bed. If they mean so much to you, sometimes it's quite nice. Even if you had four shoes on a shelf.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I'll find a spot, don't you worry.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Ad Voice]

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[Jeanette Manrara]

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[Dilly Carter]

Okay. Shall we have a look at your third item?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, gosh. Okay. Okay.

[Dilly Carter]

Right, third and final box. Let's have a look at what we've got. This is a teeny, tiny little box. Oh, okay. This looks to be something very special. I can imagine. So in this box we have a cross. And it's got a safety pin.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

Just to hold it. Okay. So the safety pin doesn't mean anything.

[Jeanette Manrara]

No, no, no.

[Dilly Carter]

But the cross does. Okay. It looks like a gold cross. Tell me why this is so special.

[Jeanette Manrara]

So this is probably my favorite item out of all of them. This was given to me by my great grandmother.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And because my parents were so young when I was born. So at the time, the only person that could look after me eight, nine hours a day while I was very, very little was my great grandmother. And so she raised me, really all the way up until I was seven years old. I was so close to her. I mean, she was my everything. If you look at photos of her from when she was young and you look at me, a lot of my family say I'm like a photocopy of her.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And when she passed, I was only seven. And I took it really hard because she was. We had such a bond and such a connection. But she did leave her great grandchildren something each. And this is what she left for me is this cross. I'm not very religious at all. My family is Catholic and Christian. My mom's side is more Christian. My dad's side is more Catholic. But my grandmother was Catholic. And she would always pray for me and pray for the family. And her giving me this cross meant to me that she wanted to Protect me for the rest of my life. And to this day, genuinely. I don't know what is or isn't out there, but I kind of pray to her more than anyone when I'm in my toughest, scariest, most. Kind of like, this is a big moment. This is a big decision. Before every single live show, I always do a quick prayer to her and say. I say it in Spanish, abuela cuidame. Which means, take care of me grandma. And I just feel like she's always by my side. If guardians angels exist, she's definitely mine.

[Dilly Carter]

And do you wear that around? I mean, I know you've got it on a safety pin.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I know.

[Dilly Carter]

Do you keep it on a necklace? Do you wear it?

[Jeanette Manrara]

No, I don't wear it ever because I'm too scared to lose it.

[Dilly Carter]

Oh, okay. So you don't wear it?

[Jeanette Manrara]

No, but I wore it on my wedding day when Aliash and I got married.

[Dilly Carter]

So did you put it on a necklace then, or did you.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I put it in the dress.

[Dilly Carter]

Dress. Put it in the dress.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Had it sewn into it, and. Yeah, I just had it sewn into the dress so I could keep it on me right near my. My heart.

[Dilly Carter]

So where do you keep it at the moment?

[Jeanette Manrara]

I keep it in my jewelry box.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah. With all my special. Like, I have. I have my earrings that I wore my wedding day. Or like, certain pieces of jewelry that are valuable and important. Not important in terms of value and money.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

But just pieces of jewelry that I really care about.

[Dilly Carter]

More sentimental.

[Jeanette Manrara]

More sentimental. Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

And so are they the things that you'll pass down to Lyra?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah, I hope so. I'm definitely going to pass this down to Lyra and always make her feel like if it's not me, she's got lots of other people in this family that love her, including her great, great grandmother.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah. She's lovely.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

And do you speak Spanish to Lyra?

[Jeanette Manrara]

I do. And we're trying. It's hard because we're trying to get her to speak three, because Alia speaks Slovenian and I speak Spanish, but we don't speak each other's languages. So I can kind of gather some Slovenian and he can gather some Spanish, but it makes it tricky at home with Lyra. So a linguist told me that if I only spoke to Lyra in Spanish and Aliash only spoke to Lyra in Slovenian, she'd pick up both. Both. So we did try that, but then we got nervous. Cause you can read so much mixed information. I read somewhere else as well. That said Three languages can be a lot for a child.

[Dilly Carter]

I can imagine.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah. So they said focus on one first. Once she's got that language ready and she feels confident with her speech, you can start introducing the other ones.

[Dilly Carter]

Has been a mom changed it?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, in every way, but only in the best way. I used to be. You know, obviously, as a dancer, you kind of always felt like you needed

[Dilly Carter]

to prove, prove, prove, prove.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Because the dance world is such a tough world. You have to look a certain way and dance a certain way. Auditions are tough. You get told no all the time. And, you know, I always felt like I was not enough in every way for a lot of things. And after becoming a mother to Lyra, I realized you need to lead by example. And I want her to be a strong, confident, empathetic, and kind young lady when she gets older. And I can only. She can only be that if I am that.

[Dilly Carter]

Exactly.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And I have never felt more confident in my own skin and in who I am. Bananas and all, you know, I'm just. It's amazing, you know, and it's a. It's a nice feeling to have because it took a lot to get to here. But I do hope that I'm setting an example for her of the kind of. That I hope that she is someday.

[Dilly Carter]

Well, I think you're setting an incredible example.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Thank you.

[Dilly Carter]

She's got an amazing role model in you. Did you always want to be a mom?

[Jeanette Manrara]

No. No. That's like. I can say it now, but I was ashamed to talk about it. When Lyra was first born, I actually sat my mother down and I said, mom, honestly, I don't know if I want to have kids. I'm so career driven. I want to travel the world. I want to explore. And then Aliasha and I, when we started dating, like, the first thing he said is, do you want children? And I said, I don't know. And Aliasha was like, I definitely want to be a dad. And I was, whoa. Can we just. Hi. Can we have a conversation first?

[Dilly Carter]

Can we finish off? You want it? Exactly.

[Jeanette Manrara]

We haven't even started our appetizers, and he's, like, talking about being a dad. And actually, it wasn't until I got into my late 30s and something very strange happened during COVID I was watching television, and, like, this bizarre feeling came over me. And I looked over at the side of the bed, and it was empty. And I just imagined our baby.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And I just had this insane feeling of, like, how wonderful would it be to just be sat here watching Tandy with our little baby next to me. And I went, oh, yeah, what's happened? What is this feeling? This is strange. But it wasn't straightforward. You know, we tried for two years and I didn't fall pregnant. And then we thought, okay, let's go down the IVF rock. Cause I was 39 at the time. And then Lyra happened, naturally. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant and I have her film. The moment I told Aliash, we both just cried and cried and cried.

[Dilly Carter]

This cross is stored in a jewelry box?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yes.

[Dilly Carter]

And is your jewelry box all beautifully organized?

[Jeanette Manrara]

No.

[Dilly Carter]

And have you ever cleaned it? Yeah. You do clean it?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

I feel like jewelry is something that people don't really know how to clean.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Can I tell you how I do it and then you tell me if it's wrong?

[Dilly Carter]

Because I was just gonna say. What we will do is call Ewan, who is our cleaning expert on the show, because he has got a tip for everything. But I'd love you to tell me how you clean that.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Okay, but I'm gonna ask him anyway.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah, let's ask him anyway.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Because this is a special pie. I clean it with toothpaste and a toothbrush.

[Dilly Carter]

Toothpaste and a toothbrush. Yes. Right.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And it leaves it really sparkly.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay, maybe we've learned something.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I do the same with my wedding ring.

[Dilly Carter]

Toothbrush and a.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Not my toothbrush, by the way. I don't use my toothbrush to clean the toys. No, no, Just a toothbrush.

[Dilly Carter]

A toothbrush, yes. Just for clarification, Ewan as well. You'll love to know Ewan is obsessed with bananas as well. So whenever we film sort of my guy, he has always got bananas in his backpack. So let's just call Ewan very quickly. Hi, darling. How are you?

[Tyler West]

I'm good, thanks. How are you doing?

[Dilly Carter]

I am very well, thank you. I'm with the gorgeous Jeanette. And actually, what you would love to know is that she's a fellow banana lover.

[Tyler West]

Oh, fellow emergency banana lover.

[Dilly Carter]

Well, she's not. No, she's not. She's not an even emergency. It's not any. It's not an emergency banana. She's like a banana with every. She eats banana with spaghetti Bolognese, Ewan.

[Tyler West]

Oh, wow.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah.

[Tyler West]

It's not something that I have tried.

[Jeanette Manrara]

I think you should give it a go.

[Tyler West]

We know what to do with our leaves, Jeanette. When we've peeled them. Them.

[Jeanette Manrara]

No. What do we do?

[Tyler West]

We polish our plant leaves with them.

[Dilly Carter]

I knew this.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, gosh. I've Got orchids on my window. Can I do that with the orchids?

[Tyler West]

Yeah, you could. On the leaves, you know, when they get dusty.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

[Dilly Carter]

Use your banana skin.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, my gosh. I can do that. Can I do it daily or once a week? Well, how often?

[Tyler West]

You know, when you can see the dust there, just give them a little bite. And because. Because the banana skin's a little bit moist. It just picks it all up and. And it. The plants love it. It's the potassium.

[Dilly Carter]

But actually, I wasn't ringing you for banana tips. I was just ringing you for some jewelry cleaning tips. Now, Jeanette cleans her gold cross with toothpaste and a toothbrush. What do we think about that?

[Tyler West]

I think that's perfectly acceptable, actually. You know, with gold, gold doesn't tend to tarnish, so we can actually get away with a little bit of just washing up liquid in a little tub of warm water.

[Dilly Carter]

Okay.

[Tyler West]

Give it a little dunk and give it a wash. A soft toothbrush, actually, for jewelry is perfect. And I think a little bit of toothpaste you can't go and miss with. It's actually very good to use toothpaste on your silver as well, because silver does tarnish and so a bit of toothpaste on silver can really bring that shine back up as well.

[Dilly Carter]

Should I tell you what I do with my jewelry?

[Tyler West]

You don't clean yours?

[Dilly Carter]

No, I do. I pour myself a. A vodka and tonic. And then I pour for vodka for the jewelry. And I put my jewelry, all my diamonds and everything into the glass of vodka and it comes out sparkling.

[Ad Voice]

Really?

[Tyler West]

Yeah.

[Dilly Carter]

There you go.

[Jeanette Manrara]

We have another thing in common. I love vodka.

[Dilly Carter]

Yeah, exactly. One for the jewellery, one for us,

[Jeanette Manrara]

one for the jewelry. One for us. I like that.

[Dilly Carter]

Thank you, darling, very much. I'll speak to you soon.

[Tyler West]

Lots of love.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Bye bye.

[Dilly Carter]

Bye bye. There you go.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Wow. So I've been doing right.

[Dilly Carter]

You've been doing right. So we have seen and heard about all your items. Thank you so much for bringing, you know, such three very different items in. If you had to, which would you sell, donate or keep?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, easily keep the cross.

[Dilly Carter]

Easily keep the cross.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Easily sell the banana. If I could just buy a new one. And I donate the shoes to a young aspiring dancer that really wants to step into my shoes someday and have a successful career.

[Dilly Carter]

That's lovely. Passing it on. Passing on all the amazing things that you've learned with that pair of shoes, hopefully.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Yeah. As long as I'll make sure to clean them really good first before I do

[Dilly Carter]

Last question to you. Where in your home is your happy place?

[Jeanette Manrara]

Oh, wow. My happy place, honestly, is in a rocking chair in Lyra's nursery. Because as the days go and the months and now, gosh, it's going to be three. That rocking chair has been a part of our lives with her. Long nights, happy nights, on not so happy nights. But when I'm rocking her to sleep and she falls asleep in my arms and it's just her and I at night on that rocking chair, I just fall into a bliss with her. It's the most special place in the whole house.

[Dilly Carter]

Jeanette, thank you so much. Thank you. It's such a joy to sit with.

[Jeanette Manrara]

This has been so much fun.

[Dilly Carter]

It's been lovely. And you know, who knew that you're obsessed with bananas? And I think everyone now is going to be going off and trying to eat a banana with the spaghetti Bolognese just to see.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Just to give it a go.

[Dilly Carter]

Just see. Let's just see. Let's just see how it is. Thank you so much.

[Jeanette Manrara]

Thank you.

[Dilly Carter]

I can't wait to be back with you. For more revealing home truths, organizational hacks, hacks and celeb unboxings, sort your life out. Unpacked is presented by me, Diddy Carter. You can watch us on iplayer and listen on BBC Sounds. And don't forget to subscribe on BBC Sounds and have push notifications turned on to make sure you don't miss an episode.

[Tyler West]

Hello, I'm Tyler West.

[Jeanette Manrara]

And I'm Alfie Watts.

[Tyler West]

And this is the Detour, the the official companion podcast to Race across the World. This is the post episode Checkpoint where you'll hear the latest chat around each episode from us and our Race superfan special guests. Plus I'll be joined each week by our resident travel expert, Alfie.

[Jeanette Manrara]

That's you, man. I'll be revealing my optimal way to travel through each leg, including visits to

[Tyler West]

all of those unmissable detours along the way. And we'll also have some not seen anywhere else exclusive content at the end of every episode can cannot wait. The detour will land straight after each episode of Race across the World. You can watch on iplayer or listen on Sounds, where you'll also find extra bonus content. We'll see you then.

[Ad Voice]

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