Strictly Come Dancing's Janette Manrara says she was "devastated" and "sobbed for weeks" over hosting snub

Strictly Come Dancing legend Janette Manrara has opened up about her experience of auditioning for a presenting role on the new series. The star had been co-hosting spin-off It Takes Two alongside Fleur East, having previously competed as a professional dancer, when she became a contender to front the main show.

In the end, it was Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdecombe who got the job, with Ellie Taylor taking over It Takes Two.

Now, speaking to Jamie Laing on his Good Company podcast, Janette confirmed that she did get "chemistry tested", and although the rejection left her "devastated", she ultimately walked away with positive feelings of pride.

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When Laing said he had thought of her as a "front-runner" to take over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, she said: "I felt like I was a front runner. They just decided to go elsewhere and of course it hit hard. Of course I was devastated.

"The only thing I will say that gave me power was that in seven years, I have gone from being a dancer on the show to hosting Morning Live, hosting It Takes Two, hosting the Strictly live tour...

"And putting myself in a room against names like Emma Willis, Rylan Clark, Zoe Ball, all of them that you've seen that have spoken out about being in the chemistry test. I was one of them.

"So if I can take anything away from it, it's not that I didn't get the job. What I'm taking away from it is that actually I've done a bloody good job in the last seven years with honing my craft in presenting."

Related: This Morning star recalls "gruelling" Strictly audition that saw her "burst out crying"

When Laing asked how she heard the verdict from producers, Janette recalled: "They handled it very professionally. They called everybody's agent, everybody on the same day got the yes or the no. And then they said, 'we're gonna let her sit with it, and if she really wants to speak, we're here. We can speak with her'.

"And I have to say, immediately, Monday morning, I had the weekend to sob and cry - and I sobbed for weeks, I'm not gonna even begin to lie, I was devastated - I called them the next day, the Monday. They were just there for me.

"Ultimately, they said, 'you were brilliant. We loved you. I can't tell you why.' Sometimes, I would hate to be in that position to pick the next person to host that show."

This week it's already Movie Week on Strictly, with the dancers' songs and dances being gradually revealed during the week.

Meanwhile, judge Motsi Mabuse has come to the defense of the new hosts, after Willis, Widdecombe and Radebe made their live debuts last weekend.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday and Sunday nights on BBC One and iPlayer, while It Takes Two airs on BBC Two and iPlayer on weekday evenings.

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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.