Former Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard made his presenting debut on GB News over the weekend, prompting a divided response from viewers.
The 31-year-old appeared on The Saturday Five on October 3, just hours after his former co-stars took part in the second live show of the 2026 series of the BBC dance programme.
Petty crime comments
During the programme, Pritchard offered his perspective on major UK issues, including a strong stance on petty crime in Britain while responding to Robert Jenrick's confrontation with shoplifters.
He said: "This country has petty crime, and it's starting to feel way too normal. I think the worrying thing is if you live or work in the city, and you see it all the time, somebody walks into a shop, they pick up their meal deal, they fill their pockets with something, and they walk out."
"Nobody stops them, and nothing seems to happen. And you might think, 'It's only a few pounds. What difference does it really make?' But when it happens thousands of times to thousands of shops every single day, and suddenly it's not so petty at all."
Mixed viewer reaction
Online reaction was split, with some viewers taking to X, formerly Twitter, to criticise the debut. One wrote: "What an absolute car crash! Disastrous presenting skills! Total amateur! I could have presented this slicker, more natural, looked like a bad school production! What are GBN thinking! ? He's totally useless in the hot seat! He's a dancer, not a presenter!"
Another said: "He was rubbish, I couldn't watch it. He couldn't even read an autocue properly," while a third added: "I don't normally comment, but he really isn't great. I usually love the Saturday Five, but I had to switch off tonight - sorry!"
However, others were charmed by his performance. One fan wrote: "My mum loved him on Strictly. I thought I would hate him, but I find he's a really nice, down-to-earth kind of guy." Another said: "This was a brilliant first show, well done AJ!" as a third added: "How brilliant is AJ Pritchard? What a lovely presenter!"
Strictly career and beyond
Pritchard appeared as a professional dancer on Strictly from 2016 to 2019. In his first series, he reached the semi-final with Olympic artistic gymnast Claudia Fragapane. The following year, he partnered with The Saturdays singer turned radio host Mollie King, and in 2018 he danced with British Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman, again reaching the semi-final. His final partner was vlogger Saffron Barker.
In 2020, he took part in ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, becoming the seventh celebrity eliminated alongside Mo Farah.
