Josh Widdicombe has broken his silence on the latest backlash over his presenting skills on Strictly Come Dancing. The comedian joined co-hosts Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe for the first live show as the new hosting trio on the BBC ballroom competition.
Widdicombe, 43, faced criticism over his broadcasting abilities from the dance floor alongside Willis, 50, at the weekend with some claiming he kept “missing his cue” and looked like a “spare part” on the show. After chatting with contestant Cach Mercer backstage, Radebe asked Widdicombe and Willis, “Who’s dancing now?” and cut to Widdicombe standing onstage in silence, before realising it was his cue to speak. The same issue appeared to happen again during a different handover.
Support from fans
Hours after the barrage of comments online, Widdicombe took to his Instagram Story to re-share a round-up post from the official Strictly Instagram page. It was captioned, "Caught on camera from week one!" and featured a snap of him flashing a peace sign while posing backstage with Willis.
The comments on the post were full of support for Widdicombe over the “disgusting” comments about his presenting abilities.
“WE LOVE YOU, @josh_widdicombe! I’m not a Strictly fan, but I’m a longtime one of Josh’s and I’m actually saddened/disgusted by a lot of the horrible comments about him on here,” one wrote. “Love the new presenting trio! They each bring something unique and together are a winning team. The show needs Josh’s humour,” another added. “Love Josh! Thought he & Emma were fab together presenting,” a third posted.
Viewing figures
The weekend marked the first live show for the new presenting team after Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s exit and attracted a peak of five million viewers, the BBC has said. Over the course of the two-and-a-half-hour programme, an average of 4.8 million viewers tuned in to watch on BBC One as the latest batch of stars performed on the dancefloor with their professional partners live for the first time.
A Strictly spokesperson said: “Strictly was the most watched programme of the night, with a peak of five million viewers. As ever, overnight ratings do not give the full picture of all those who watch in an on-demand world.”
It follows on from last week’s launch episode which had a peak of 5.8 million viewers and an average of 5.3 million. Saturday’s episode of Strictly is currently number one on the iPlayer’s most popular chart.
Leader board highlights
It saw social media star John Nellis top the Strictly leader board with his partner Katya Jones as they wowed the judges with a foxtrot to Alex Warren’s Ordinary. The judges gave the routine 31 points, with Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas praising the routine as being “the best dance of the night” and Craig Revel Horwood saying it was “classy, elegant and graceful”.
Following behind was Australian singer Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington, who scored 29 points for their Samba to Baiana by Barbatuques. The episode ended in a three-way tie for last place with a score of 15 points.
Among them was Gavin And Stacey actress Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec, who performed a cha cha to Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Sir Elton John and Kiki Dee. They were joined by ex-footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr, who performed a cha cha to Lil Boo Thang by Paul Russell, and Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon after their quickstep to C’est Magnifique by Kay Starr.
The new hosts split presenting responsibilities with Willis and Widdicombe by the judges’ table while Radebe welcomed the dancers on the balcony ahead of the score reveal. The first show did not include a public vote or elimination. Strictly Come Dancing will return on BBC One on Saturday for movie week.
