‘Excited’ Josh Widdecombe reveals he almost turned down Strictly job

New Strictly Come Dancing presenter Josh Widdicombe has admitted that he considered turning down the job due to how much it would change his life.

This week, it was confirmed that the comedian would be joining Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe as one of three new hosts of the BBC programme.

Other big names had previously been mentioned claiming that they were in contention for the job, including Zoe Ball and Rylan Clark, but in the end, the trio were announced following the news last year that Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly had stepped down.

While some have expressed their excitement over Josh joining the show, others have been more dubious, claiming that the Last Leg star appears to be less of a natural fit, whereas Emma has previously hosted shows like Big Brother and The Voice UK, and Johannes was a Strictly pro. (In my opinion, I think he’s going to be brilliant). 

In a new episode of his podcast Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe, he opened up about the initial reservations that he had when he was considering accepting.

‘I think this is a fair thing to say. Obviously when this opportunity came up initially to just have the meeting, I thought I really liked my life,’ he told his co-host Rob Beckett.

‘Would I want to throw it into flux? Do you know what I mean? Because it’s a big fit.

‘It’s a defining thing that you’re suddenly doing. But I just thought, what an incredible thing to experience.’

However, Rob was quick to encourage his friend, telling him: ‘Josh, you’re perfect for it. Your kids are an age that they adore it.

‘You’re going to be so good at it because you’ve done what, 12 years of live TV. You don’t understand how accustomed and professional you are in that kind of pressure where it’s very overwhelming.’

Rob continued: ‘You’ve already got that under your belt. You know how to be funny in short snippets around a big sort of structured show. You’re perfect for the job. You’re going to be brilliant at it. And you can build your life around it now.’

Josh, who won the first-ever series of Taskmaster in 2015, appeared on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special in 2024 with Karen Hauer.

At the time, he said: ‘I am utterly terrified this will end in humiliation and worried I’m going to be so bad I will ruin Christmas for the nation. Why have I done this?’

Just over a year later, he’s ready and raring to put his ballroom shoes back in to take a spin on Strictly with his new co-hosts.

‘Dancing the Charleston dressed as a penguin for the 2024 Christmas Special of Strictly remains my career high point, so I am giddy with excitement, honoured and a little overawed to be given the chance to step into the biggest shoes in television,’ he said.

‘I adore Emma and Jojo and can’t wait to spend my weekends with them. I’ll dust off the penguin costume.’

Strictly Come Dancing returns later this year on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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