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janette manrara strictly© Photo: Instagram

Strictly's Janette Manrara pays sweet tribute to lookalike younger sister on her birthday

The former partners were eliminated from Strictly at the beginning of the month

Jenni McKnight
US Lifestyle Editor
December 12, 2019
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Janette Manrara paid a touching tribute to her lookalike sister as she celebrated her birthday on Wednesday. The Strictly Come Dancing professional was unable to be with her younger sibling, Lesly, on her special day, but gave her a sweet shout-out on Instagram to let her know she was thinking of her. Sharing a series of images of them together, with one even from Janette's wedding to Aljaz Skorjanec, the Miami-native wrote: "For always being obsessed w/ @waltdisneyworld w/ me, for always bringing joy & laughter to my heart, for giving advice as if you were my big sister, for just being the best friend any sister could ask for; for all of these reasons & more than I could ever put into words, I love you & wish you the happiest of birthdays today!"

janette manrara sister 2© Photo: Instagram

Janette shared a beautiful throwback photo to her wedding day

Janette added: "Keep being the magnificent, wonderful, strong, intelligent, kind, talented, & passionate person that you are always. I’m so far away, but right next to you in my heart! I love you little @leslymanrara... Happy Birthday!" Touched by her kind words, Lesly quickly replied: "Thank you!! You’re the best sister one could hope for... love you oh so much."

No doubt Janette's Strictly commitments meant she was unable to fly back to the States to join her sister. She is currently in rehearsals for the grand finale on Saturday, and will soon be teaming up with potential winner Kelvin Fletcher to start practicing for the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour. Kelvin's current partner, Oti Mabuse, is unable to join him for performances as she will be busy working on The Greatest Dancer.

WATCH: Aljaz and Janette's beautiful love story

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Announcing the news on Instagram, 36-year-old Janette wrote: "So excited to announce that I will be joining the @strictlycomedancinglive tour w/ @kelvinfletcher! @otimabuse and him have been absolutely INCREDIBLE to watch this series so this will be an absolute privilege for me! Make sure you come check us out! And don’t forget to watch one of my faves @otimabuse on @greatestdancer in January & February of 2020."

janette manrara sister© Photo: Instagram

Janette wished her lookalike sister a 'happy birthday'

MORE: Strictly stars Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec share romantic kiss in gorgeous new photo

Kelvin was quick to comment on the post, joking that he was used to being treated a certain way by his dance partner. "@otimabuse buys me lunch every day, puts make-up on me and even lets me take the warm up. So no pressure yeah?" he wrote.

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