TV legend Johnny Ball has teased that his daughter Zoe could be the next host of Strictly Come Dancing.
Earlier this year, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced they were quitting the series after 11 years of co-hosting. They fronted their last live show over the weekend.
And, while many names have been thrown into the mix, BBC execs have neither confirmed nor denied any rumours. However, it looks as if Zoe could be a frontrunner, if her dad Johnny is to be believed.
Johnny Ball reveals daughter Zoe is ‘in the mix’ for Strictly
The 87-year-old TV legend said: “Nothing’s going to be decided until after Easter, but she’s in the mix, and people are coming to her, but it’s too early to say.”
Johnny added that he believed Zoe, 55, would be a stronger presenter than Claudia, 53.
Zoe hosted the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off between 2011 and 2021, after Claudia was promoted to the main show.
He continued to The Express: “I think she would love it, I think she would love the job because she took over from Claudia on It Takes Two, and if anything, she did a better job than Claudia.”
Ouch!
His comments come after Zoe quit her BBC Radio 2 programme. Her show will now be hosted by Emma Willis.
With her final show airing over the weekend, Zoe told listeners: “I have loved being betwixt my dear friends Romesh [Ranganathan] and Rylan [Clark], and you know, I love you all to bits, but I’m not disappearing completely.”
Who else is in the running for the Strictly role?
Zoe is just one of many names being touted for the job.
Bradley Walsh recently teased whether rumours he was taking a chemistry test for the job were true.
Speaking on BBC Radio 2, The Chase host said that presenting Strictly would “ruin the weekend”. However, he did tease that he’d been practising the show’s “keep dancing” catchphrase.
However, there are a glut of other names being considered for the Strictly hosting role.
Holly Willoughby, Alex Jones and Rylan Clark are just a few of the other top contenders.
But BBC bosses are keeping schtum on the matter.
Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips said: “The production team, BBC Studios, and Executive Producer Sarah James and her team are concentrating on getting two shows out a week. We haven’t got time at the moment to start doing any screen tests or chemistry testing.
“I don’t think we’ll really be looking at it until the New Year. We want to make sure we deliver a great Strictly series.”
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