Clara Amfo secretly auditioned to host Strictly Come Dancing

Radio and TV presenter Clara Amfo has said she secretly auditioned to host Strictly Come Dancing and that she was “gutted” but “quickly got over it” when she did not land the role.

The 42-year-old broadcaster tested alongside another presenter for the chance to front the BBC One dancing programme.

Despite not getting the role, she had no doubt that the new hosts, who debuted for the first time as a presenting trio during Saturday night’s launch episode – Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe – would be “really good”.

Presenter Clara Amfo (Jonathan Brady/PA)

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Speaking on her podcast, Clara & Munroe Are Into It, with her co-host, with activist and model, Munroe Bergdorf, she said: “I could have hosted it. I was in the mix, loves. I can say it publicly now.

“I tried out for the main job of Strictly Come Dancing. Didn’t get it. Bit gutted at the time, but quickly got over it.

“I tried out for Strictly with another presenter. They tried us out in pairs. I won’t say her name because she might not want her business out like that.”

Amfo said the audition process was “intense” and involved a fake Strictly set as well as being given a fake name and show in case people asked her what she was testing for.

She added: “It was intense man but big up Emma Willis, we get on fantastically well. She’s going to be amazing.

“Johannes that’s my boy, we love Jojo, we love Johannes and Josh Widdicombe, lovely, lovely man.

“I’m never mad at losing out on work to people that I respect and who I think are really, really good at their jobs.

Clara Amfo spoke about auditioning on her podcast (James Manning/PA)

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“I think it’s more jarring when you lose out on work to people that you know just aren’t very good or who are unprofessional etc etc.

“Emma, Johannes and Josh are going to be great. They are going to be really good.

“But I did wonder like oh, what if?”

She went on to praise former presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly who stepped down last year after fronting the series together for nearly a decade.

She said: “What those two did together was really, really special.

“It shouldn’t be radical, but having two women host primetime television, like Saturday prime time TV together, two women who aren’t in their bloody twenties, like it shouldn’t be radical, but it actually was and really fab to see.

Amfo backed EastEnders actress Jaime Winstone to win this year’s series adding that she is a “lovely person” with a “heart of gold”.

Model Munroe Bergdorf (James Manning/PA)

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The episode also revealed that Bergdorf was approached by Strictly producers to compete on the show, however, she “cut that conversation short” because she felt it would be an “absolute nightmare” because of sentiments towards transgender people.

The transgender model said: “I’m just not really willing to participate in a show of that high stakes in such a hostile environment towards trans people.

“I feel like that would be putting myself through an enormous amount of stress that I wouldn’t even enjoy it and if I’m not going to enjoy it then what’s the point?

“I would love to see a trans contestant. I just don’t want to be that person.

“There’s something about Strictly that I think is such a jewel in the crown of the nation and with the anti-transness of the media being so rife, I just think it would be an absolute nightmare.”