Sara Cox has given her verdict on the new Strictly Come Dancing presenting team, praising Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe after they took over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
The BBC Radio 2 presenter was in the running for one of the most coveted jobs in British television but missed out to Emma Willis, who was chosen alongside Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe to replace the iconic duo. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman decided to quit the BBC show after the last series.
Sara Cox's Praise for the New Trio
Speaking to Heat magazine, Sara admitted the Strictly shake-up is "a big deal", saying she has whipped herself into a frenzy. Despite some criticism from fans and former Strictly pros and contestants, Sara spoke glowingly about the new presenting team.
Sara said: "I think it is really exciting and I love all three of them. Emma especially has done loads of live TV. That really is her happy place and she's brilliant at it."
Advice and Audition Secrets
Opening up on whether she has given any advice to Emma, Johannes and Josh, she continued: "If you go to work and you're a brain surgeon, it's life or death. If you go to work and it's on the radio or on telly, it's just entertainment.
"Hopefully, you know no-one's going to die. They're a really good team and they're going to look after each other."
Sara has previously talked about the "cloak and dagger" Strictly presenter auditions, describing them as "fun pandemonium". BBC bosses would not tell interviewees who they were screen testing with, and they made up a fake show title so the cab company would not know they were driving would-be presenters to auditions.
Speaking on her Radio 2 show with Emma as a guest, Sara said: "Can we talk about the fun pandemonium of those secret auditions. The car turned up to pick you up and not saying where it's taking you, which was weird as a control freak."
Emma, 50, confirmed a similar experience, saying: "It was the most cloak and dagger thing I've ever been a part of. They wouldn't tell us who we were screen testing with, would they? They wouldn't tell us where we were going. They made up a fake TV show for the cab company so that nobody would get suspicious."
Sara added: "So the cab company didn't leak anything and it was something like, Britain's Lovely Gardens. That's the show we were all going on auditioning for."
Emma admitted to feeling nervous but said the BBC producers put her "straight at ease" - and she eventually got the gig.
