Strictly Come Dancing's new hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe have revealed how their three-presenter format will operate on the BBC show. Speaking in their first major interview since replacing Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, the presenters admitted that the new setup remains very open just weeks before live broadcasts begin.
The trio explained that having three presenters was a "wild card" choice by producers, with no fixed script or preset roles established yet. Emma Willis revealed during an appearance on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast that the hosts are attending regular production days to play around with ideas and feel out the studio dynamic.
"There's no like for like, so no one's kind of replacing anybody and at the minute it's all very kind of open," Willis told podcast host Richard Osman. Widdicombe compared their fluid dynamic to total football, adding that all three presenters will be moving everywhere across the studio floor.
Willis also clarified that professional dancer Radebe will "definitely" not be placed in a backstage roving reporter role, dispelling earlier speculation from show insiders. Instead, all three hosts will share main presenting duties throughout the live broadcasts.
Strictly Come Dancing is the BBC's flagship Saturday night celebrity ballroom dancing contest, which launched on BBC One in 2004. Tess Daly served as a host from its premiere, while Claudia Winkleman joined as co-presenter in 2014.
Willis has previously hosted major broadcasts including Big Brother and The Voice UK, while Widdicombe is known for co-hosting Channel 4's satirical show The Last Leg. Radebe joined Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer in 2018.
Secret Auditions and Cover Stories
The presenters recalled going through a gruelling four-month audition process that they described as "cloak and dagger" and "a bit like Traitors." To prevent leaks to the press, production bosses created a fake cover story for taxi drivers who transported candidates to secret chemistry tests.
Widdicombe revealed that drivers were told the auditions were for a nonexistent gardening series named The Great Garden Glow Up. Willis confirmed that executives created an entirely fake title and show concept specifically to keep cab drivers in the dark.
"I did feel like saying to my agent, 'I wouldn't have gone to The Great Garden Glow Up chemistry test,'" Widdicombe laughed. "I am in the back of the car and there is a cabbie who is judging me. Because he thinks I would present a show called The Great Garden Glow Up."
After initial individual auditions, candidates were brought back for group chemistry tests. Radio presenters Zoe Ball and Sara Cox previously revealed they took part in the secret audition process, and the trio confirmed they screen-tested alongside several different potential presenters before being paired up.
The Rest Is Entertainment is a media podcast co-hosted by television presenter Richard Osman and journalist Marina Hyde. Contenders Zoe Ball and Sara Cox are prominent BBC Radio 2 broadcasters, with Ball having previously presented the Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two.
Wild Card Callback and Confirmation
The three presenters were finally brought into a room together late in the week, even though producers remained uncertain how a triple-host format would function on screen. Willis said bosses informed them during their callback that combining all three was an unplanned wild card option.
"We're just like, 'What happens if we do three?' And they said, 'It's so much of a wild card, we don't really have a script for you either,'" Willis recalled. She added that producers asked them to sit down and tinker with ideas on screen together.
Widdicombe admitted feeling shocked when Radebe entered the room, explaining that newspaper reports had led him to expect other established presenters. "I'd say both of us thought that's a weird combo," Widdicombe said, while Radebe agreed that they were initially confused about why all three were put in the same room.
Two weeks after the chemistry test, all three received phone calls confirming they had landed the roles. However, the news reached them in unglamourous settings.
Willis accepted the confirmation call on Zoom while sitting on a toilet at a hairdressing salon, while Widdicombe answered his call while standing in a Birmingham graveyard. The new hosting team will make their live debut when the new series of Strictly Come Dancing begins in the coming weeks.
