Strictly Come Dancing presenter Emma Willis has said she felt "really sorry" for Josh Widdicombe during the launch show, after the new hosting format received mixed reviews.
This year's series follows the departure of former hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman last year. Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe are now sharing presenting duties for the first time, a change that has left some viewers divided.
New hosts split responsibilities
During week one of the 2026 series, Emma and Josh stayed by the judges' table, while Johannes joined the couples on the balcony ahead of the score reveal, the role previously held by Claudia.
Appearing on It Takes Two, the three hosts admitted how nervous they were waiting in the wings ahead of launch night, ready to follow in some big footsteps.
Emma's sympathy for Josh
Host Ellie Taylor asked Josh what he thought of the launch show and whether he enjoyed the dancing. He responded: "I think it went very well! I enjoyed it, I showed that with my face and my feet!"
Emma then admitted she felt "really sorry" for Josh during the launch night. She said: "You're on that side of the stairs by yourself and me and JoJo were on the other side. I always wondered who was with you," as Josh joked it was Craig Revel Horwood.
Motsi Mabuse calls for kindness
After the backlash over the new hosting format, judge Motsi Mabuse has spoken out in a TikTok video, asking people to "be kind" when sharing their thoughts and feelings online without considering who they may be talking about.
She said in the video: "Quick note, because you guys are like that, what happened? What happened to be kind? What happened to be kind, guys? It is out of the window? Let me know."
"Because when people work for hours and hours and hours to do something, and someone takes a second to rip it off, or sits there and rips it, think about delivery, guys."
"Think about delivery. Everything you're doing is going into the internet, which is energy, energy going into our world. You all see how our world is going..."
