Emma Willis is stepping into one of the biggest jobs on British TV, but the new Strictly Come Dancing host has admitted she’s already feeling the pressure ahead of her BBC debut.
The presenter will front the hit ballroom show alongside Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, with the trio confirmed as the new hosting line-up in May. Their appointment came after Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly announced they were leaving the series.
Emma Willis admits she feels “terrified” about Strictly
Speaking to Josh on BBC Radio 2, Emma revealed the reaction to the new line-up has already left her worried that expectations are getting out of hand.
“Do you know what worries me?” she asked. “A few things I’ve read recently is that people go, well, people are going, ‘The chemistry was off the charts.’ I’m like, don’t set it that far, the bar that high, because then we’ve got nowhere to go!”
She added: “Yeah, go, ‘They all got on really well.’ Start there.”
Despite the nerves, Emma said she is looking forward to the experience. “But what fun we’re going to have,” she said.
Josh agreed, admitting the scale of the show is something you only fully appreciate once you’re involved.
“I know this sounds weird, because obviously it is a bit huge, and you know it’s huge, but you don’t realise how huge it is,” he said. “So you haven’t even been on it yet, and that’s all the people in the street talk to you about.”
Emma then summed up exactly how she’s feeling with a candid confession: “Yeah, I keep going, ‘Yeah, thanks’ and they’re like, ‘Are you excited?’ I’m like, ‘I’m terrified.'”
Why Emma Willis’ Strictly role is such a big deal
Emma’s comments highlight just how much attention surrounds the new chapter for Strictly. The BBC favourite remains one of the country’s biggest entertainment shows. Replacing Claudia and Tess was always going to attract huge interest.
The long-running presenters confirmed in October that they would leave after the 2025 series, saying it felt “like the right time” to step away.
In a joint Instagram statement, they wrote: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.”
They continued: “We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.”
They finished by adding: “They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day.”
Meanwhile, the countdown to the new series is already under way. The show’s 2026 celebrity line-up is beginning to take shape. Chris Appleton, Lacey Turner, Delta Goodrem and Dani Dyer are among the names confirmed so far.
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