Richard Osman has said the new Strictly Come Dancing presenter format isn’t working – and revealed how he would alter the new trio’s roles to fix it.
Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe made their presenting debut on Saturday (26 September), taking over from long-running presenting duo Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. But while Willis has been widely praised for her new role, opinions on Widdicombe and Radebe’s hosting abilities have been mixed.
Former House of Games host Osman addressed the topic on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, saying: “I absolutely see why they’ve gone with three people – it makes a lot of sense to do that.”
The new trio divided hosting duties in the first show, with Willis and Widdicombe standing by the judges’ table, while Radebe conducted post-performance interviews with the contestants – a segment that was previously presented by Claudia Winkleman.
Talking about Radebe’s role, Osman said: “The Johannes thing is interesting because at the moment he’s doing exactly what Claudia did, which is you throw to Johannes, the producers have given him two talking points: ‘Here’s the thing from the VT, here’s what the judges said – just raise those things with the celebrity and their partner’.”
Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe on Strictly Come Dancing 2026.
He continued: “The reason it became that is because that’s the thing Claudia is very good at. ‘Give me a few bits of vanilla content’ – Claudia is very, very good at turning that into something. Now that’s not what Johannes can do – it’s not who he is. He’s a trained dancer; he brings something else. So you have to work out what it is that Johannes does instead.”
Osman went on to suggest a new alternative: having Willis present solo by the main stage, moving Widdicombe into the post-performance interview role currently held by Radebe, and having Radebe in a roving reporter position backstage, where he could provide “extra content”.
Expanding further on why Willis and Widdicombe don’t work as a double act, he pointed out that “one is a comic” and “one is not”.
Osman also said that he thought that trimming the VTs by 30 seconds would improve the show.
Richard Osman. Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)
The first live show of the season, which featured performances from all 15 celebrities, averaged 4.8 million viewers on BBC One, according to overnight figures, drawing fewer viewing figures than last year.
Social media star John Nellis stormed to the top of the leaderboard with partner Katya Jones, scoring 31 for a foxtrot to Alex Warren’s Ordinary.
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Australian singer Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington followed closely behind with 29 points for a samba to Baiana by Barbatuques.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the scale, Gavin and Stacey actress Melanie Walters, former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey tied at the bottom on 15 points.
There was no public vote or elimination in the opening show, with the scores being rolled over to this weekend.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 3 October at 6:15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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