Alan Carr has ruled out hosting Strictly Come Dancing, saying he doesn't love the show enough to take on the role. The comedian, who fronts his own game show, Alan Carr's Celebrity Picture Slam, was among the names tipped to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman before Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe were confirmed as the new presenting trio.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Carr said he was "clumped with everyone and had to say: 'No, don't put me in the mix'." He added: "I love watching Strictly, but I don't love it enough. People are always moaning there aren't new, fresh faces on TV. Well, wouldn't it be amazing to give it to a young person who absolutely adores Strictly and dancing?"
Lack of dance knowledge
Carr also admitted he lacks the technical knowledge of ballroom dancing, confessing: "I don't really know the dances. I'd be like: 'Oh here they go again, that dance with the legs'." He expressed concern that hosting the show would lead to overexposure, saying: "If I rock up on it, they'll go: 'Oh, here he is again.' Why waste it on me?"
Since his appearance on The Celebrity Traitors, Carr has become a near-constant presence on television, but Strictly is one programme he will not be seen on.
Turning down dance offers
On Vito Coppola's Bottoms Up podcast, Carr revealed he regularly declines approaches from Strictly producers: "They ask me every year to dance." He said that if he ever accepted, he would have one firm condition: "I don't want a man, I want a woman," explaining that dancing with a male professional might leave him "aroused."
Coppola, a Strictly professional, said he would be at ease with a same-sex pairing: "Dance is something that... will put you under. It's a kind of challenge to yourself, but it will take out a version of yourself that you never imagined. That's the beauty of it. Sometimes when they start, the celebrities, they don't have experience. They have never danced ballroom or latin and by the end of their journey, be it week seven, eight, or final, they are surprised at how good they are doing."
Carr remains unmoved by the prospect of taking part. He also dismissed his "national treasure" status, saying: "Everyone's a national treasure now, I'm sick of it. We should have only five, and it's one in, one out."
