Despite endless speculation about the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing, the news that Johannes Radebe, Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis were taking over was still met with genuine shock.
And now the trio, who are replacing long-time Strictly hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as the dance competition returns this month, have opened up about the extreme lengths the BBC went to keep their identities secret.
Speaking to Richard Osman on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Radebe, 39, Widdicombe, 43, and Willis, 50, revealed that the Strictly team came up with a fictitious TV show that they should pretend to be trying out for while they were auditioning.
The process was so secretive it felt “a bit like [The] Traitors”, former Big Brother presenter Willis explained, as she revealed that the trio were individually asked to come in for chemistry tests only to be picked up in cars not knowing the location.
open image in galleryWiddicombe said that the trio had been respectively told to keep secret what they were actually auditioning for, as the driver had been told that he was bringing them in to try out for a gardening show.
The comedian then explained that the production team had gone as far as to name this fictitious programme, calling it The Great Garden Glow Up.
“They created a whole new name for a show for the cab drivers,” Willis said.
Widdicombe then joked: “I did feel like saying to my agent, ’I wouldn’t have gone to The Great Garden Glow Up chemistry test.’”
“I am in the back of the car and there is a cabbie who is judging me, because he thinks I would present a show called The Great Garden Glow Up,” riffed back Osman.
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Willis then explained that the trio individually arrived at the studio to find a mock studio set-up, complete with camera crew and members of the production team who were acting as stand-ins for the judges.
“We’re literally going to pretend to do Strictly,” she explained, with Widdicombe adding: ”Shout out to the producer who did the best Craig Revel Horwood impression I’ve ever seen.”
The presenting trio will be at the helm as Strictly returns for its 24th series this month, with the launch show airing on 19 September when the celebrity contestants will meet their professional partners for the first time.
The pro dancers, like the presenting team, have also seen a major shake-up this series; many fan-favourites have left the show, with five new dancers joining the cast.
The first live show will then take place on 26 September, during which all 15 contestants will dance in front of the public for the first time.