07 September 2023 , 15:52
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Strictly Come Dancing star Janette Manrara has provoked something of a heated debate about mother’s returning to work after maternity leave after she made her triumphant return to the BBC.
The 39-year-old Cuban-American dance star shot to fame in the UK back in 2013 when she made her debut on Strictly Come Dancing as a professional. She has since left the main show to become the presenter of support show It Takes Two - which she has helmed since 2021.
Janette does other presenting work and Thursday marked her return to the BBC’s morning show Morning Live. She returned to screens for the first time since giving birth on 28 July - when she welcomed a baby daughter named Lyra with her professional dancer husband Aljaž Škorjanec, 33.
And while Janette was excited to get back to work, she ruffled the feathers of some TV viewers. Taking to Instagram after her big return, Janette shared an endearing photo of her husband and daughter watching her on their TV screen at home - and she also shared a supportive message for other mothers juggling work with parenting.
Janette Manrara was thrilled to have a new fan - her baby daughter, Lyra (Instagram/ @jmanrara)
Janette was excited to be back at work six weeks after giving birth - but some TV viewers bitterly hit out at her (Instagram/ @jmanrara)Janette wrote: “It was so nice to be back on @bbcmorninglive today w/ @gethincjones and the whole gang! But what made it extra special, is that Lyra got to watch her Mami doing her thing at work for the first time w/ her cousins Zala and Tisa. So special to know that they were all watching together at home! This photo melted my heart. I cannot wait cuddle her all day now! To all the working moms out there…. You’re I credible and we’ve got this.”
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While Janette’s message was innocuous enough, some TV fans were enraged by her words - and took to social media to slam her. One bitter critic grumbled: "Do you realise you have a child to look after, you didn’t have her so you could pass her over to your husband 23 hrs a day."
And another suggested Janette was setting a stressful precedent for other new mums, writing: "This isn’t personal and I mean no disrespect, but I wish celebs wouldn’t normalise mums going back to work when their babies are tiny. Most of us don’t want to, aren’t physically or emotionally ready and it’s not what’s best for us. It’s a shame Janette feels pressured into going back so soon.”
But many others defended the Strictly star. One rushed to her aid to write: "It is normal most mothers have to go back to work! There isn’t a magic money pot in the garden!" And another wrote: "It's not normalising at all - it's a fact that a lot of people have to do this. Also some want to. Whatever is right for each person. Don't knock someone else for doing what suits them and their family."