Strictly's new presenter Emma Willis provided a behind-the-scenes look at the show's recent launch, sharing photos on Instagram of the preparations and her co-hosts. The series, which kicked off on Saturday night, saw Willis, 43, take to social media on Sunday to give fans an insight into the lead-up to the opening episode.
One of the shared images featured Willis beaming alongside her co-presenters Johannes Radebe, 39, and Josh Widdicombe, 43, during a script run-through with the autocue visible. Another photo showed Radebe posing in a red dressing gown next to their official promotional image. The behind-the-scenes content also included glimpses of the professional dancers preparing for their entrance and a dress rehearsal of the group dance.
Willis captioned the post, "Here's the #Strictly story so far." Support for the new hosting team came from former host Claudia Winkleman, who commented with a series of love heart emojis. Other television personalities also offered praise for Willis and the new lineup.
Scarlett Moffatt wrote, "You were all amazing! I felt like I had been invited to a party from my living room! Smashed it." Giovanna Fletcher added, "So proud of you. We're all in for a treat seeing your joy and warmth on our telly every weekend." Former Strictly contestant Catherine Tyldesley commented, "You guys smashed it! Loving this combo!" while professional dancer Dianne Buswell stated, "You were all brilliant."
The pre-recorded launch show on Saturday drew a peak viewership of 5.8 million, a slight increase from last year's peak of 5.6 million. However, the average viewership for the episode was 5.3 million, a marginal decrease from the 5.4 million average in 2025.
While many viewers expressed approval of Willis's performance, some social media users questioned the decision to have three presenters. Comments on X (formerly Twitter) included sentiments like, "i love emma, jojo and josh but it feels so odd without tess and claude, this is gonna take some getting used to," and "I can’t understand why we need 3 presenters???