After Emma Willis’ Strictly debut, I don’t miss Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly

I was more than a little nervous for Strictly Come Dancing after the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

Even more so when Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdecombe were confirmed to be joining Emma Willis as their replacements.

Last night, after weeks of top-secret auditions and then months of public scrutiny – from both concerned Strictly fans and those who just love nothing more than to take a dump on the show – television’s most unlikely trio made their debut.

And, contrary to what you’ll read on X, it was a triumph – a real middle finger up at those, like me, who ever doubted Strictly bosses.

Turns out, after more than 20 years nurturing this show, they know what they’re doing. Who knew?

If anything, very quickly it became crystal clear that Emma Willis is the single best thing that’s ever happened to Strictly Come Dancing.

Within minutes, Strictly felt as though it had been hers for years.

As much as I adored Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, and I couldn’t possibly imagine how Strictly would have survived a completely new line-up of hosts when they announced their exits last year, I didn’t miss them for a second.

This was entirely down to the absolutely flawless performance of Willis, who has finally found the show that was destined to be hers.

There was a running joke in my house once that whenever Willis appeared on the TV, I’d just say ‘I love Emma Willis’ and had absolutely no control over it. She is so naturally warm, kind, quick and funny but yet you never get the impression she has a clue quite how talented she really is.

I’m old enough to remember her MTV days presenting TRL in the early noughties, a replica of the daily US show, which was arguably the most important driver of music sales across the pond.

The show wasn’t quite as successful here but it did find a star in Willis. Since then, for more than 20 years, she’s deserved to be the face of the biggest thing on the box and has come close with The Voice UK and Channel 5’s Big Brother.

Her death stare at Roxanne Pallett during the Emmerdale star’s interrogation is the stuff of legends. But she’s always hovered on the periphery of an absolute television juggernaut – until now.

I truly thought Strictly could be in the gutter after losing Tess and Claudia – the latter the single most adored presenter in the UK right now thanks to The Traitors – but last night it never felt more alive than it has in years.

Willis did all the heavy lifting for the first half of the launch show, with Radebe and Widdecombe giving her the space and grace to sit in the driver’s seat and steer this ship back on course.

They could have put Boris Johnson and Liz Truss either side of Willis as her new sidekicks and still she’d have made Strictly a success but thankfully she had former pro Radebe and comedian Widdecombe there instead.

I always knew Willis would be a hit, but I’ll admit I feared for her two co-hosts.

Radebe is arguably the most popular professional dancer Strictly has ever had but he’s never presented telly. Contrary to popular belief, being a presenter is an incredibly difficult job that takes years to perfect to the standard needed for live Saturday night television.

Last night’s launch show might not have been live, but it did prove Radebe is exactly where he’s supposed to be. He’s a mentor for both the celebs and their professional partners, a man who has been through it all, and can sincerely pat them on the back and say ‘I’ve got you’ while simultaneously being sharp and quick-witted.

His enormous smile and booming laugh is so effortlessly comforting. He’s a total natural.

But it’s Widdecombe who has taken the brunt of the backlash since the trio was announced, and that continued last night with X users insisting he was ‘out of his depth’ and would be axed after one series.

The criticism he’s faced both before last night’s show and during it is absolutely absurd, and really does highlight the very ugliest side of Britain; how much we thrive on poopooing someone’s success when, in Widdecombe’s case, he smashed it out the park.

There are definitely teething issues – as is to be expected.

I’ll admit, at least for now, three feels like a crowd. Willis is so clearly primed to take Daly’s spot on the dance floor, bringing the contestants to the judging panel after their performance, but I’m not yet entirely sure what role Radebe and Widdecombe will fill respectively.

I can’t foresee them both cramming into the Clauditorium. However, in the moments we saw Widdecombe holding the fort, I was amazed at how at home he felt on the Strictly stage when he was by far the biggest gamble of the three.

But suddenly Strictly Come Dancing feels like it could have a brighter future than anyone could have predicted just a few years ago when it was plagued by allegations, its family-friendly image tarnished after scandal after scandal.

Strictly hasn’t felt this exciting in years, and that is entirely down to Emma Willis, who will carry this show to great new heights on her sequinned shoulders.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One next Saturday at 6.15pm.    

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