Will Best has revealed he received the same insult twice on the first day of Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals. The presenter, 41, is set to join EastEnders icon Lacey Turner, singer Delta Goodrem and Kim Kardashian's hairdresser Chris Appleton when the BBC Saturday night favourite returns later this year.
Double Jim Carrey comparison
Speaking on the Hits Radio Breakfast Show, Will told co-host Fleur East that two female professional dancers independently compared his dancing to Jim Carrey's character in The Mask. He said: “Two of the female pros commented on my ‘dancing face’, I didn’t realise that I dance more with my face than with my legs. Two of them, separately and unprompted, said, ‘It’s like dancing with Jim Carrey in The Mask.' Two of them said the exact same thing!”
Will described the first day of rehearsals, saying: “We had our first official day and it was really sweet. All the team, the producers did little speeches talking about how it’s a big family and everyone’s really nice and it did feel like that.” He added: “I learnt a lot about myself in terms of how I dance – it’s obviously the first day I’d done any ballroom dancing, and the pros were there and we were doing little dance masterclasses with them.”
Dance partner chemistry test
The celebrities and professional dancers took part in a chemistry test to see who might be paired together. Will explained: “They were seeing what the chemistry was like between the celebs and the pros to see who you might get paired with and all the male celebs would stand in a circle facing outwards. The female pros would dance with each of you really quickly for a few seconds, a few bars, and then they move on to the next person going round in these circles.”
Excitement and social media reaction
Will has been looking forward to his time on Strictly and recently shared a humorous Instagram post where he danced into a coffee shop to collect his order. He wrote over the video: "POV You find out you're doing Strictly and suddenly the whole world's a ballroom." In response, one fan joked: "Is that a cha-cha-chai latte you've got there?" and Will replied: "INCREDIBLE."
When the news first broke that Will would be joining Strictly, he said: "I can't quite believe it…I'm doing Strictly! What an absolute dream. Albeit a pretty terrifying one. I've been lucky to do lots of live telly before, but absolutely nothing like this. And I cannot wait! I have no idea if I can actually dance, but bring on the sequins, bring on the quicksteps, bring on the dance floor! I'm going to try to enjoy every minute of it."
Will began his television career with the short-lived music show Suck My Pop, which he co-hosted with Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh. He then went on to present T4 before fronting Dance Dance Dance with Alesha Dixon. Since 2023, he and AJ have hosted Big Brother together and seen Jordan Sangha, Ali Bromley and Richard Storry crowned as winners, whilst reality star David Potts and Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd have emerged victorious from the celebrity version.
