Bradley Walsh has said he would be interested in joining Strictly Come Dancing as a host, after the suggestion was put to him during a radio appearance. Speaking on Heart Breakfast, the presenter, best known for hosting The Chase, was discussing his viewing habits when the conversation turned to the BBC dance competition.
Interest in Live Television Role
Hosts Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden were chatting with Walsh about The Traitors when Theakston suggested he would have made a good host of Strictly. Holden agreed, asking whether Walsh would consider making the move.
Responding, Walsh admitted he would be interested, explaining that a particular aspect of the job appealed to him. "Well, not necessarily. They always say, 'Brad, would you do it?' And I would like to do the job because I love working in live television, and I haven't done it for so long," he said.
He added: "Yeah, but I love live telly because it's dangerous."
Strictly's Recent Presenting Changes
His comments come after Strictly underwent a major presenting shake-up following the departures of long-standing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman last year. Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and professional dancer Johannes Radebe subsequently joined the programme, taking on presenting duties in a revamped line-up that has divided opinion among viewers.
Former Strictly professional Oti Mabuse and her husband Marius Iepure have also shared their thoughts on the changes, questioning the amount of time devoted to interviews with contestants. Speaking on Oti's podcast, The Fifth Judge, Marius suggested there was "too much talking" between the presenters and couples.
Oti agreed, arguing that Johannes could handle the entire interview section himself rather than splitting the questions between the presenters. She said: "So I don't understand why that whole section is just not Jojo, because he's doing a great job. He can ask all four questions by himself. That's his job."
Walsh's Television Habits
Walsh also revealed how much television he gets through during the week, despite initially giving the impression that he was not a particularly big viewer. He explained that his Saturday evenings involve watching Strictly, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and Match of the Day, regularly switching between the programmes.
He confessed to being a huge fan of football and golf before revealing that his Sundays are largely taken up by Match of the Day 2 and four consecutive hours of the classic detective series Columbo. Amanda was particularly amused by the revelation, telling Walsh that her husband Chris was also a big fan of the show.
