Will Mellor has broken his silence on the new Strictly Come Dancing presenting trio ahead of the show's autumn comeback. The former contestant, who appeared in 2022, told Express.co.uk: "Change can be good sometimes, and I think it's always going to be different, so people will have an opinion."
Will Mellor on the new Strictly hosts
He praised Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe, saying: "I've known Emma Willis for a while, and I've met her on a few things; she's a phenomenal presenter. She's great at what she does, so I wasn't surprised when I heard her name." Of Johannes, he said: "Johannes is a beautiful man, he's one of the favourites for everyone. I love Johannes; he's a fantastic performer, and he knows the show inside and out."
Josh Widdicombe is 'the wildcard'
However, the Line of Duty star admitted Josh Widdicombe was the surprise of the three. He said: "Josh is probably the surprise of the three because I don't think I've ever seen him present anything. So whether he's just there as a fly-on-the-wall or what, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see, but he's the wildcard for sure."
He added: "That's the one that I didn't expect because I thought it was going to be Rylan. He did Strictly It Takes Two, he knows the show, and he's worked behind the scenes. He was always there when I did it, and he's interviewed me a lot of times. He's fantastic at what he does." Mellor added of Widdicombe: "So Josh was one of those where you go, 'Wow, I didn't expect that, but that doesn't mean it's going to be bad, you'll just have to wait and see. I don't know what format they've got this time. It's going to be interesting."
Advice for this year's celebrities
Mellor, who was partnered with Nancy Xiu in 2022, warned contestants they need to put in the hours. He said: "It's the most terrifying and fabulous thing all rolled into one, but you've got to graft. There's no cutting corners, that's all I'm going to say. Don't train for two hours and then go, 'I've had enough'. You've got to listen to your dance partner, and you've really got to go through the pain barrier and give it everything you've got."
He also stressed the importance of getting on with your partner: "Also, hope you get on with your dance partner because it would have been a real, real struggle if I hadn't got on with my dance partner. I had the dream partner, I absolutely adored her. She's beautiful inside and out, and I wanted to do well for her. She told me her backstory, and she's really been through a lot in her life. I think getting on with your dance partner is vital because I've seen it when it goes the other way, and it's not nice. You're with them 90% of the time, so the matchups have got to be right for you."
Benenden Health campaign
The former Coronation Street star is supporting Benenden Health's new campaign, The Wake-Up Call, which explores why many men only take action after something significant happens. He confessed his father's passing was a "wake-up call". Speaking about the campaign, he said: "This was really important to me because I come from a working-class background and I'm very proud of it. I've always had the opinion that private health care was for the rich. But what I learnt with Benenden Health was that you can get private healthcare for the cost of two coffees a week. Your health is the most important thing we've got, it's our most valuable currency, so we need to invest in it and subscribe to our health."
