As the countdown to this year’s Strictly Come Dancing continues, the show has revealed a fun glimpse of new hosts Johannes Radebe, Emma Willis and Josh Widdecombe preparing to step in front of the cameras – with the legendary Glitterball Trophy in tow. The trio look like they’re having a whale of a time in the new snap, which comes ahead of the contest’s return in a matter of weeks.
Last month, the BBC’s audience ticketing website suggested that the first live show would air on Saturday, 26 September – implying that the pre-recorded launch episode could air on Saturday, 19 September.
It’ll be one of the most eagerly-anticipated series openings in Strictly history, as viewers catch a glimpse of Willis, Radebe and Widdecombe’s debut. They replace long-standing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who departed at the end of 2025.
BBC
Related: Strictly Come Dancing presenter auditions were “pandemonium”, Sara Cox reveals
What’s more, it seems the show is returning to a pre-COVID format of having the celebrities find out their professional partners in front of the studio audience, rather than in packages that are filmed separately.
“This year, they’re doing it slightly differently,” contestant Graeme Hall said on Radio Northampton. “We don’t find out until the launch show. You have no say in it, the pros have no say in it.”
Hall is on the bill alongside (deep breath) Lacey Turner, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best, Dame Sarah Storey, Jaime Winstone, Bethany Antonia, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Lawrence Robb, Tabby Stoecker, John Nellis, Melanie Walters and returning star Dani Dyer.
Best recently revealed that “chemistry tests” have taken place between the stars and the pros, saying on his Hits Radio Breakfast Show: “They were seeing what the chemistry was like between the celebs and the pros to see who you might get paired with, and all the male celebs would stand in a circle facing outwards and the female pros would dance with each of you really quickly for a few seconds, a few bars, and then they move on to the next person going round in these circles.”
Getty Images
Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 – including Disney+, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV
“Two of the female pros commented on my ‘dancing face’,” he added. “I didn’t realise that I dance more with my face than with my legs, and two of them separately and unprompted said, ‘It’s like dancing with Jim Carrey in The Mask’. Two of them said the exact same thing!”
Emma Willis has also hinted that one small but iconic part of the show’s tapestry might have to change: the presenters embracing to say “keep dancing” at the end of each episode.
Appearing on Magic FM, she said: “That is difficult with three. Right?
“At the minute we’re having loads of like production days and we’re playing with kind of, who’s with who and where do we go and how does it work? But I imagine we’ll need to have something.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns this month to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.
The new edition of Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Ariana Grande, is here! Buy Ariana Grande in newsagents or online.
Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who’ll listen.