Strictly Come Dancing's new hosting trio talk Emma's past dance audition with Johannes for show and advice received from Tess and Claudia

In a photo studio deep inside the BBC, the disco anthem Stayin’ Alive booms through the speakers. Johannes Radebe can’t help moving his body as the Bee Gees sing “I’m a dancin’ man and I just can’t lose” and an assistant attempts to run a lint roller down his white jacket.

Meanwhile, a make-up artist is dabbing Emma Willis’s face as she tries not to laugh at something Josh Widdicombe is saying sotto voce. Widdicombe looks up at Radebe. “Jojo! I’m so excited for your moves!” Radebe waves him away with a “don’t be daft” expression. The photographer asks Radebe and Willis to lift Widdicombe up, “like a modern-day Jesus”. Widdicombe, deadpan as ever, shoots back: “Always seen myself that way.” Cue more laughter.

When Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman shocked fans last October by announcing that they were leaving Strictly Come Dancing – “now feels like the right time” – the rumours started swirling instantaneously. Who would replace the two national treasures who had come to personify Strictly? Who could replace them? Daly had been there, with Bruce Forsyth, since the inception of the show in 2004; Winkleman’s warmth was the perfect antidote to Craig Revel Horwood’s tough love.

Would it be Alan Carr, Hannah Waddingham, Holly Willoughby or Zoe Ball – just a handful of the rumoured names? (Ball has since joked that she “worked through the seven stages of grief and rejection” after hearing that she didn’t get the gig).

Speculation reached fever pitch until, in May this year, the BBC finally announced its new presenters for the 24th series. Not a duo, as expected, but a trio. It wasn’t a huge surprise that Radebe, a pro dancer on Strictly for seven years, was making a sideways move to present given his charm, emotional intelligence and passion for dancing.

Willis, a veteran at presenting competition shows from Big Brother to The Voice, is not only a safe pair of hands, but also has that Winkleman warmth and is calm in front of camera. The curveball is Widdicombe, a comedian known for co-presenting Channel 4’s long-running satirical talk show The Last Leg, co-hosting the Parenting Hell podcast with Rob Beckett and winning Taskmaster. He also memorably danced the Charleston dressed as a penguin in the 2024 Strictly Christmas Special.

Photos done, Radebe (39), Willis (50) and Widdicombe (43) sit very close to one another on a sofa that isn’t quite wide enough to accommodate them. I start to say that I wasn’t cynical about them becoming the new presenters... “I feel a ‘but’ coming,” says Willis, sitting in the middle, an eyebrow raised. Widdicombe leans forward, anxious. But, I continue, judging from the photoshoot, their chemistry is insane! “Oh, thank you!” says Willis, grinning. Radebe wipes imaginary sweat from his brow.

“They offered me the job on day one,” says Widdicombe. “Then they asked me to choose the two presenters I wanted to work with, and here we are.”“Josh!” say Willis and Radebe in unison.

“OK, I’m joking!” Widdicombe says. “It was a such a long process. It was crazy!”

“It was full cloak and dagger,” adds Willis.

“We were in separate cars, with no idea where we were going,” says Widdicombe. “I was put in the boot, which I thought was a bit much!”

“They put you in the boot?” asks Radebe, shocked. Willis shakes her head and Jojo laughs – he is still learning to appreciate the fact that Widdicombe is a relentless verbal prankster.

“But,” says Willis, “they did create a false TV show so that the car company wouldn’t be suspicious of what was happening. We were given a day and a time the car would show up, but no destination. When we arrived, each of us sat in a separate room. We had no idea who else was there. When Jojo walked in, we both screamed.” Radebe nods furiously. “We screamed a lot!”

Had Willis and Radebe met before? “I did a dance test for Strictly just after the Covid restrictions lifted,” Willis says. Widdicombe jumps in: “This is an exclusive!” Willis smiles at him benevolently and continues. “I walked into my dance test and Jojo was standing there. I was over the moon.” Radebe grins. “I was more over the moon!”

Willis looks at him. “We got on straight away, didn’t we Jojo?” Radebe nods. “You can get along with anyone, Emma.” Widdicombe angles himself towards Willis and Radebe. “Meanwhile, I’m much more discerning.” All three burst out laughing.

If, by the way, this all feels a bit fake, as though they’ve drunk the Strictly Kool-Aid and have been told to make it crystal clear just how well they get along, I’d argue that you can’t fake the kind of energy that fizzes between them – they genuinely seem to like each other, perhaps because they are all so different.

Widdicombe was so excited about the possibility of getting the job that he called his agent as often as he dared. “I kept saying, ‘Tell me again, how many people do you think are still in contention?’ I could feel her sitting there thinking, ‘I need to talk to Romesh [Ranganathan, a fellow client] about something more important!’”

Widdicombe is certainly happy to acknowledge that he is the bombshell choice. When Radebe walked into his room at the secret location, they were both surprised. “You could see us go ‘WHAT?’ This is a weird duo. Surely they’re not going with me and Jojo? I thought that perhaps they were putting two wild card, oddball choices in the same room to see who to choose.” Did Widdicombe think he stood a chance?

“I thought the whole experience was a fun thing that would fizzle out. It’s dangerous to dream, right?”

What was it like when all three were finally in a room together? Radebe, who is a little shy, often has to be encouraged to join in by Willis. “As soon as I met Emma and Josh, I realised I really wanted the job.” Even when he was offered the job, he thought the BBC was pulling his leg it’s clearly only beginning to sink in now.

Once they accepted their new roles – which will apparently involve all three sharing hosting duties, with no ‘roving reporter’ as initially suggested – they had the hard task of breaking the news only to their closest family.

Widdicombe told his wife, television producer-turned-interior designer Rose Hanson (he later told his eight-year-old daughter, who has since invited all her school friends to watch Strictly; his son, who’s five, “couldn’t care less”). Willis told her husband, Matt Willis, and her eldest daughter, who is 17, who was “unusually emotional” (when she later told her 14-year-old son, she was surprised at how proud he was).

Radebe told his mother, who still lives in his native South Africa. “She said it was wonderful, because it meant I could rest my bunions.”

Willis and Widdicombe laugh. Radebe, although the quietest of the three, has wonderful comic timing. “I complain to mama about everything because she’s my best friend.”

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The day the new presenters were announced, they made headlines across the country. That evening, Blackpool Tower was illuminated with their names. The pressure to repay the BBC’s faith in them is huge, especially as viewing figures for the show have dipped over the last few seasons.

If they each had to hold up Strictly score paddles right now, how much pressure do they feel on a scale of one to 10? They reply in unison with an emphatic: “Ten!” “It doesn’t matter how much telly you’ve done,” says Willis. “We’re taking over a show that’s incredibly loved. We’re stepping into the shoes of two presenters who are adored, which is terrifying.”

Have they heard from Daly and Winkleman? They all nod. “Their advice is simply to enjoy it,” says Willis. “I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t be nervous, but nerves are good – they feed the excitement.” Widdicombe concurs. “I feel the excitement an England player must feel ahead of a World Cup game, or a musician feels before headlining at Glastonbury. Rob [Beckett] is delighted – he thinks it will give the podcast a boost. Romesh told me he was proud of me, which means a lot. A lot of people have said it makes sense. But maybe they mean the fact that I’m stepping away from comedy makes sense. Hahaha!”

Radebe is making the biggest transition, from pro dancer to presenter – is he moving from his athlete years to his TV personality years, as Oti and Motsi Mabuse did before him? “Truthfully, this is all new. Meeting the new professionals this week was strange.”

Five new pro dancers from all over the world will be joining the series, alongside returning pros including Amy Dowden and Carlos Gu, who won with Karen Carney in December 2025. Radebe looks wistful – did he have FOMO? “Yes, I did. I will miss the relationships formed on the show because you leave at the end of every series with lifelong friendships. I am a performer at heart and I won’t be dancing as much this series.”

But he did spend four months earlier this year starring in Kinky Boots: The Musical in the West End. “That’s not dancing,” says Radebe. “Have you seen it?” asks Willis. “He dances the whole way through!” Radebe shakes his head. “It’s not the same as Strictly, which is gruelling and demanding. By the time you reach week nine, you are in the best shape of your life. You have the best body.” Widdicombe grins. “That’s what he’s really worried about!” Radebe laughs. “I’ve already put on a few pounds! If anyone had any idea of what it takes to do Strictly…”

Is he saying that the detractors wouldn’t be so quick to complain if they knew what hard work it is? Radebe nods. Willis picks up the baton – she is, after all, going to be competing with herself this autumn, presenting the new, pre-recorded series of The Voice alongside Strictly. “You can’t please everyone and everyone has an opinion about Strictly. Some people won’t be happy that it’s us presenting, but there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m not here for negativity.” Widdicombe shrugs. “What can you do? It’s a joyful show. I never read that kind of stuff before and I’m not going to start now.”

He may not have read it, but the public response has been relatively positive so far. “People have been congratulating me in the street,” says Widdicombe, looking surprised. “Try walking around with Jojo,” says Willis. “We get stopped at every pace. It’s like walking around with Brad Pitt.” Radebe waves her compliment away. Widdicombe won’t let it go. “It’s like A Hard Day’s Night when Jojo walks down the street.” (In reference to the song’s video by the Beatles that depicts Beatlemania in the 60s.)

They are yet to meet the 15 new contestants, including EastEnders’ Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer (returning after withdrawing due to injury last year), footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Gavin & Stacey’s Melanie Walters. “I’m genuinely excited,” says Widdicombe. “I can’t wait to meet Shaun.” Radebe nods.

“I was waiting for Lacey to do Strictly so I could partner her.” Maybe he could do a sneaky rehearsal with her. “Oh my god, I wish!” Widdicombe jumps in again. “She’ll be in rehearsal with her pro dancer and the camera will show your face pressed up against the window.” Radebe throws his head back and laughs.

On the day the three new presenters met each other, Widdicombe set up a WhatsApp group called “OMG”. “Had I set it up, it would definitely be OMFG,” says Willis.

“I haven’t sworn since the screen test,” says Widdicombe. “People have been asking how I will adhere to the BBC guidelines, but I haven’t given an opinion in 20 years! My comedy is deeply inoffensive.”

What do they chat about on WhatsApp? “About how scared we are!” says Widdicombe. “How Emma is going to save the day!” adds Radebe. Willis looks terrified at the idea of having to carry all three of them. “We’re all going to be fine!” she says, her voice audibly wobbly.

What, then, is their most used emoji? “The laughing/crying one,” reveals Willis. Actually, I say, that’s officially called Face with Tears of Joy, which sums up their new roles perfectly. “Love that,” says Willis, composed again. “We can either overthink it or we can go out and have a bloody good time on a show we all love.”

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Strictly Come Dancing, the launch show, is on Saturday 19 September at 7.25pm on BBC One

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