Incoming Strictly Come Dancing presenter Emma Willis has admitted she is “ready for the comparisons” as she prepares to step into her new role.
The 50-year-old television host brings extensive experience to the BBC flagship entertainment programme, having previously fronted Big Brother, The Voice, The Circle and Love Is Blind.
She forms part of a fresh presenting trio alongside former Strictly professional dancer Johannes Radebe, 39, and comedian Josh Widdicombe, 43. The group will succeed long-serving hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman later this month following their departure last year.
Addressing the inevitable scrutiny, the new lineup opened up about the expectations involved in succeeding the established pair and how they plan to handle public comparisons.
In joint remarks to the Press Association and other media outlets, Willis said: “I’m ready for the comparisons. I am ready for the negative opinions that can come with these things, but on the flip side, there are always positives as well.
“But at the end of the day, I feel like it’s really simple, right? We work in this industry, and we’ve been given the opportunity to work on a phenomenal show that is really well loved by the public and also by ourselves.
open image in gallery“We aren’t reinventing the wheel, and we’re not rocket scientists. We are working on an entertainment show about dancing that is meant to hopefully bring joy to everybody watching it. So hopefully we can be a small part of that joy and have a really lovely time doing it.”
She added: “There’s obviously a kind of fear that comes with it because of the enormity of it, and you have nerves about being good enough to kind of do the job and step into the role.”
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Widdicombe said that while they would not “reinvent the show”, they would “be ourselves and our personalities will be there”.
When asked whether they had spoken to the former hosts — who said it “felt like the right time” when announcing their departure last year — Radebe revealed Daly and Winkleman had offered them guidance.
“They reached out and wished us well for the season ahead and reminded us just to enjoy it,” he said.
“It felt like we got approval from older sisters.”
Reflecting on the transition, Widdicombe described taking over as “surreal”, but called the surrounding pressure “exciting”.
“It shows we really care and are thrilled to get the opportunity,” he added.
Daly, 56, co-hosted the series alongside Sir Bruce Forsyth when it launched in 2004, while Winkleman, 54, fronted its weekday companion show, It Takes Two.
Winkleman eventually moved on to host the Sunday night results show alongside Daly, joining the main Saturday broadcast in 2014 after Sir Bruce stepped down.
open image in galleryStrictly will return to BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday September 19.
This year’s celebrity contestants include former Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen, actress Melanie Walters, former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Australian singer Delta Goodrem.
They will be joined by EastEnders actor Lacey Turner, celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton, Love Island winner Cach Mercer, presenter Will Best, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, actress Jaime Winstone, actress Bethany Antonia, dog trainer and presenter Graeme “The Dogfather” Hall, Emmerdale’s Lawrence Robb, Olympian Tabby Stoecker and sports content creator John Nellis.
The BBC has confirmed five new professional dancers are joining the show this year: Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita.