Zoe Ball apologised to Alex Jones during her Dig It podcast after bringing up a Strictly Come Dancing memory that left The One Show presenter visibly squirming. Alex, who competed on the BBC show in 2011, called the moment the "most horrendous one minute 30" of her life.
Remembering the Samba
The awkward flashback came after Zoe, 55, described finding her "dream shop" in Majorca, a store selling both wine and records. Holding up a vinyl copy of Antônio Carlos Jobim's Terra Brasilis, she mentioned the Brazilian music and asked: "Don't you remember the Samba on Strictly back in the day?"
Alex put her head in her hands and replied: "Oh don't, the Samba, it was the most horrendous one minute 30 of my life that was." Zoe responded, laughing: "I'm sorry for bringing that up," before quickly moving the conversation on to book and film recommendations.
Strictly history
Zoe reached the Strictly final with Ian Waite in 2005, while Alex finished in fifth place six years later. Zoe later hosted the spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two and auditioned to become one of the main show's new hosts after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman departed, but was unsuccessful.
Speaking about the rejection on a previous podcast episode, Zoe said: "I didn't get it, but it's okay. I have worked through the seven stages of grief and rejection over the last couple of days." She added: "I tell you what, if who I think has got it, we're in safe hands and our new hosts are going to be fabulous."
New hosts announced
It was later announced that Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe had landed the presenting roles. Alex had also been rumoured to be in the running, alongside names including Rylan Clark, Bradley Walsh and Angela Scanlon.
After the announcement, Alex responded on Instagram with: "Huge congratulations to the three of you!" followed by red heart and applause emojis. Zoe will take on the Banker in tonight's Deal or No Deal: Celebrity Special, playing for her chosen charity, airing at 7pm on ITV and ITVX.
