Strictly Come Dancing's big revamp flops as fans blast new hosting trio, struggle to identify any of the 'celebrity' contestants and fail to give show the ratings boost it hoped for

Saturday night ushered in a new era for Strictly Come Dancing as the show received a major shakeup on its 22nd year. 

The BBC opted to rip up the rulebook and abandon the show's tried and tested formula with a new lineup of presenters, unexpected celebrity contestants and a revamp to the partnering process. 

However, the programme's bold gamble hasn't paid off, with viewers underwhelmed by the new format and failing to give the show the ratings boost the Beeb had hoped for. 

The pre-recorded launch show peaked at 5.8 million viewers, according to overnight figures, up slightly on last year’s peak of 5.6 million. 

However, not all viewers remained loyal, and accounting for those who ultimately switched off, the episode averaged at 5.3 million viewers, down from 5.4 million in 2025.

High up on the list of viewer complaints were the new hosting trio, with bemused fans asking why 'three' hosts were needed to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. 

Strictly's big revamp has flopped after fans blasted the new hosting trio, struggled to identify any of the 'celebrity' contestants and failed to tune in for the launch show (pictured: Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe) 

While Emma Willis was lauded, many expressed that they'd rather see Johannes Radebe back on the dancefloor, and see no more of third host Josh Widdicombe. 

Viewers penned on X/Twitter: 'I can’t understand why we need 3 presenters???'; '3 hosts are different but I love emma willis so happy she’s part of this,'

'Why does it need 3 presenters? It just doesn't work', 'Is it way too early to say I’m not sold on these hosts and I want Tess and Claud back? #strictly.' 

Another big change to the launch show format saw the stars find out their partners inside the studio through a game akin to musical chairs, in which the pros would rotate around the celebs until Emma announced that was their new partner. 

The change didn't go down well with viewers, who joked online: 'I'm going to be hearing "CHANGE PARTNERS" in my sleep aren't I #Strictly.'

During the partner pair up, it was revealed Dani Dyer, 30, reunited with her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin, 28, whom she was paired with last year before an ankle injury forced her to withdraw early.

House Of The Dragon actress and West End star Bethany Antonia, 28, was paired with Nancy Xu, 35.

Bethany had requested a female dance partner after she was inspired by Nicola Adams and Katya Jones's coupling in 2020 as they helped with her coming out journey.

'That was life-changing for me - to see my family so supportive of an all-female couple and what that meant,' she said.

Nancy missed out on a partner last year so was delighted to be back in the competition once again.

Love Island star Cach Mercer, 25, was paired with one of the five new Strictly pro dancers Maddie Ingoldsby.

Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton, 43, teamed up with show veteran and fan favourite Amy Dowden.

Australian singer and actress Delta Goodrem, 41, was paired with Kai Widdrington and dog trainer Graeme Hall, 59, with Lauren Oakley.

Actress Jaime Winstone, 41, has been partnered with Carlos Gu, who will be hoping to replicate his 2025 win with Karen Carney.

Sports Youtuber John Nellis, 33, was teamed with the show's longest-serving professional Katya.

EastEnders actress Lacey Turner, 38, landed fan favourite Vito Coppola whilst Emmerdale's Lawrence Robb, 34, got Jowita Przystał.

The oldest celebrity in the new series, Gavin & Stacey star Melanie Walters, 64, is in good hands with long-time pro Aljaž Škorjanec.

Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, 48, was paired with Julian Caillon whilst former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips, 44, was teamed with Alexis Warr.

British skeleton racer Tabby Stoecker, 25, was matched with another new pro Mark Karmalita and Big Brother presenter Will Best, 41, was placed with show favourite Dianne Buswell, who lifted the Glitterball in 2024.

Viewers remained unconvinced by the contestants, many of whom they hadn't heard of. John Nellis, for example, a 'sports content creator', doesn't even have a Wikipedia page (John pictured with partner Katya Jones) 

The judges, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke then watched on as the celebs participated in a group dance with the professionals.

Yet viewers remained unconvinced by the contestants, after the lineup was previously branded 'the worst ever'. 

The celeb lineup was announced on social media this year rather than on radio and TV, but many followers had never heard of the names. 

John, for example, a 'sports content creator', doesn't even have a Wikipedia page.

But that doesn't seem to matter to producers, who are said to have specifically selected stars who have large social media followings, rather than being known to the average Joe.

In recent years, BBC bosses have started to introduce content creators, reality stars and online influencers to the lineup in a bid to attract Gen Z viewers.

It's a move that paid off, with YouTuber Joe Sugg, Made In Chelsea's Jamie Laing and Love Island's Tasha Ghouri for example, all proving popular with fans and reaching the final.

Yet this year, that idea was put into overdrive, with an insider claiming the series has actively targeted stars with a big social presence to attract younger viewers.

Stars such as Kim Kardashian's hair stylist Chris might not be a household name, but he does boast a huge social media following with 4million fans on Instagram.

Sports YouTuber John has an even bigger fanbase, with 15.7million YouTube subscribers.

However, loyal fans were left scratching their heads over the lineup, with many of the comments on the Strictly social posts asking who the celebrity is, rather than expressing any excitement.

Indeed, while bosses may be keen to attract Gen Z – the majority of Strictly viewers are in fact Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Audience demographic data indicates that around 60 per cent of the audience is aged 55 or older, putting the average viewer age firmly in the mid-50s and above.

Yet this year, it's been suggested Strictly is following a similar, hugely successful social media strategy employed by its US counterpart Dancing With The Stars.

Even host Emma admitted before the show started that she hadn't heard of many of the contestants. 

Another big change to the launch show format saw the stars find out their partners inside the studio through a game akin to musical chairs

Strictly will return for its first live show of the new series on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One 

Bosses will have hoped that a fresh format and new hosting line-up could tempt lapsed viewers back to the BBC One favourite. 

However, the overnight figures suggest the changes have yet to produce a significant ratings resurgence. 

While the peak figure represents a small rise on last year, it remains well below the figures recorded before the programme was hit by a series of controversies.

This includes allegations about the treatment of celebrity contestants and the culture behind the scenes, leading to the departure of professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima and prompting the BBC to introduce tougher welfare measures.

Prior to the string of scandals, the Strictly launch peaked at 6.7 million viewers and averaged 6.3 million in 2023.

It remains to be seen if the revamped show can ever achieve such numbers again. 

Strictly will return for its first live show of the new series on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.