“Absolutely amazing!”- The Real Dirty Dancing fans can’t stop gushing over Howie Dorough’s Johnny moves

Howie Dorough from The Real Dirty Dancing on FOX (Image via howie_dorough/ Instagram)

The Real Dirty Dancing premiered on FOX with eight celebrity contestants re-creating moments from Dirty Dancing. While fans of the 1987 film were feeling nostalgic, viewers of the new show couldn’t stop gushing over Howie Dorough.

Dorough portrayed the iconic character Johnny (played by the late Patrick Swayze) to near perfection. Viewers were rooting for him and cheering on their favorite Backstreet Boys singer on social media.

Here’s what they had to say:

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Howie Dorough’s Baby was Anjelah Johnson-Reyes

Dorough was paired with Anjelah Johnson-Reyes on The Real Dirty Dancing. She tried her best to get into the character of Baby (played by Jennifer Grey) but looked uncomfortable in trying the sensual moves with Dorough.

The pair was supposed to do a lift in their final performance and they even practiced it. But they couldn’t get it right during the rehearsals and as a result, failed to perform in front of everyone. Nonetheless, Dorough and Johnson-Reyes looked pretty good together as Johnny and Baby.

One moment that left viewers in splits was when Johnson-Reyes asked the singer to lift her higher during rehearsals. Dorough looked puzzled and said that her belly was already on his face. In response, the comedian said:

“It’s dirty dancing bruh!”

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All about The Real Dirty Dancing Episode 1

The first episode of FOX’s original series, The Real Dirty Dancing, started with the clip of the iconic lift from the film. It then introduced the contestants, who gave a background on their profession and why they wanted to participate in the dance series.

The show has been shot on the original set of Dirty Dancing, which includes a gazebo, a lodge and Johnny’s cottage. All the celebrity contestants were greeted by host tWitch, aka Stephen Laurel Boss.

He took them to the dancing room where Baby first witnessed Johnny and his friends enjoying dirty dancing. tWitch then asked the stars to shake a leg to the film’s songs and get rid of any awkwardness they might have been feeling.

Later, the boys re-created a scene of Johnny from the movie. The first episode ended with the pairs' performances, followed by the announcement of winners. All the contestants voted for Tyler Cameron as the best Johnny and Cat Cora as the best Baby.

New episodes of The Real Dirty Dancing will air every Tuesday on FOX at 9.00 pm ET.