Strictly Come Dancing is set to introduce a significant shake-up with its new presenting trio: Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe.
In their first joint interview since being announced as the successors to Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, the hosts revealed that the show's format with three presenters is still in development.
"There's no like for like, so no one's kind of replacing anybody and at the minute it's all very kind of open," Emma Willis told The Rest Is Entertainment podcast. She explained that producers consider the three-presenter arrangement a "wild card" choice and that the team has been undergoing extensive production days to "feel each other out."
Josh Widdicombe described the upcoming dynamic as "total football," suggesting a fluid and dynamic on-stage presence. Willis also clarified that Radebe will not be taking on a "backstage roving reporter" role, contrary to earlier speculation.
The trio detailed a rigorous four-month audition process, which they likened to the secrecy of the television show "The Traitors." To maintain confidentiality, BBC bosses reportedly invented a fake gardening show, "The Great Garden Glow Up," to inform any inquiring taxi drivers about the purpose of their meetings.
"We were told if the driver asked, he'd been told it was a show about gardening called The Great Garden Glow Up," Widdicombe said. Willis added that the fabricated show title was used to brief drivers, prompting Widdicombe to joke about the absurdity of auditioning for such a program.
After initial separate auditions, the potential hosts underwent chemistry tests. Willis confirmed they had tested with various individuals before being united as a trio. She shared that during a callback, producers indicated the three-presenter combination was a "wild card" and that they would collaboratively develop the script. "We're just like, 'What happens if we do three?' And they said, 'It's so much of a wild card, we don't really have a script for you either. So we're going to sit down, get it up on the screen and we'll have a little tinker all together.'"
Widdicombe expressed surprise when Radebe joined their audition, as media speculation had suggested other potential candidates. "I'd say both of us thought that's a weird combo," he recalled, a sentiment Radebe agreed with, noting the initial uncertainty about how the three of them would be brought together.
Confirmation of their roles came two weeks later. Willis humorously recalled taking the Zoom call informing them of their casting while on the toilet at a hairdresser's, while Widdicombe was in a graveyard in Birmingham.
The new presenting team is scheduled to begin their roles on Strictly Come Dancing in the coming weeks.