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The Strictly Come Dancing results show introduced a presenting shake-up that left viewers rather impressed, following complaints that the three hosts weren’t being utilised correctly.
One day after the second live episode of the 2026 series kept things the same – with Emma Willis and Josh Widdombe hosting from the dance floor, and Johannes Radebe in Claudia Winkleman’s old spot upstairs – producers sampled the pairing of Willis with Radebe, with better results.
They interviewed the judges together, and appeared more natural and relaxed than Willis and Widdcombe, who has been labelled a “spare part” while hosting alongside the standout Willis.
Instead, Widdicombe was tasked with chatting to the celebrities on his own after they got through to the next round – and he appeared much more comfortable in this role. One viewer declared that the comedian had “found his natural home”, with many more urging producers to make this change for the next Saturday episode.
“Emma and Johannes presenting together – this is much better,” another fan wrote on X/Twitter.
The show marked the first time that all 15 Strictly couples were able to perform in Strictly’s Movie Week in a bid to allow all contestants to undertake a themed performance.
Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton and his professional partner Amy Dowden were the first couple to be eliminated from the 2026 series after a dance-off with actor Jaime Winstone.
It’s the second year in a row that Dowden was voted off in the first week, having been sent home early alongside businessman and controversial Apprentice candidate Thomas Skinner in 2025.
Last week, after the lukewarm response to her co-hosts, Willis shared a selection of backstage photos on Instagram – one of which included a portrait emblazoned with the phrase: “You’ll get judged either way, so may as well pick the fun option.”
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Former BBC host Richard Osman, speaking on his podcast The Rest is Entertainment, explained how he thought the issue could be corrected, suggesting Radebe could put his dancing experience to use by speaking to the performers in a roving reporter role backstage.
“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,’” Osman said.
“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.”
Judge Motsi Mabuse has been left frustrated by the criticism, warning people that one day TV hosts could be taken over by AI, so viewers should be grateful for “imperfectly human” presenters.
“While people type away, tearing apart real human beings on television, real emotions!!!!!!!” she wrote on Threads.
“AI is getting better at replacing them. One day, we might not even know the difference. And maybe then we’ll miss the days when television was still beautifully, imperfectly human.”
Tess Daly and Winkleman quit the series in October 2025. While they did not disclose their reason for stepping down at the time, Winkleman revealed months later that it had nothing to do with the scandals that rocked the show in recent years, but instead stemmed from their mutual feeling that the series needed some new faces.