Strictly Come Dancing fans are urging Emma Willis to host the show with her husband Matt Willis following the backlash around her co-presenter Josh Widdicombe. Comedian Widdicombe joined Willis and Johannes Radebe for the first live show at the weekend as part of the new hosting trio of the BBC ballroom competition.
Widdicombe, 43, faced criticism over his broadcasting abilities alongside Willis, 50, with some claiming he kept “missing his cue” and looked like a “spare part”.
Behind-the-scenes Instagram posts
Far away from the backlash, Willis shared several behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram showing her posing in her white dress and eating pizza. She also posted a playful clip of herself with her Busted musician beau holding hands and kissing as they walked down the corridor at the Strictly studios. Matt burst into dance and waved jazz hands at the camera as his wife laughed.
“Week one, done. I’ve never had so much fun! What a way to kick things off,” The Voice presenter captioned the post.
Fans praise couple's chemistry
Her fans flooded the comments with their praise for her and her husband’s “natural” chemistry, with some suggesting that he should replace Widdicombe on the show.
One fan wrote, “Slide three should be the real presenters of Strictly,” and others rushed to agree. “Wholeheartedly agree with this. Matt is as natural as she is, there’s a reason they’re perfectly matched,” one user enthused.
“Totally agree, would have been a winning combination for Strictly, he's already got presenting experience and it would have been a great dynamic to have a married couple who are so likeable,” another added.
“That would be good and the chemistry between them is beautiful and fun especially for the show,” a third posted.
Previous hosting duo work
The couple - who married in 2008 and share three children - have appeared as a hosting duo on television in the past, including for the past three series of Love Is Blind UK.
In 2024, they also hosted the two-part Channel 4 documentary, Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones, about a group of Year 8 pupils who gave up their phones for 21 days. They previously said it was “wicked” to work together as their jobs often meant they worked apart.
Widdicombe's live blunders
The Strictly hosting suggestions came after Widdicombe’s apparent blunders during the live show on Saturday.
After chatting with contestant Cach Mercer backstage, Radebe asked Widdicombe and Willis, “Who’s dancing now?” and cut to Widdicombe standing onstage in silence, before realising it was his cue to speak. The same issue appeared to happen again during a different handover.
Hours after the barrage of comments online, Widdicombe took to his Instagram Story to re-share a round-up post from the official Strictly Instagram page.
It was captioned, "Caught on camera from week one!" and featured a snap of him flashing a peace sign while posing backstage with Willis.
The comments on the post were full of support for Widdicombe, with fans saying they were “saddened” by the backlash.
First live show ratings
The weekend marked the first live show for the new presenting team after Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s exit and attracted a peak of five million viewers, the BBC has said.
Over the course of the two-and-a-half-hour programme, an average of 4.8 million viewers tuned in to watch on BBC One as the latest batch of stars performed on the dancefloor with their professional partners live for the first time.
Saturday’s episode of Strictly is currently number one on the iPlayer’s most popular chart.
It saw social media star John Nellis top the Strictly leader board with his partner Katya Jones as they wowed the judges with a foxtrot to Alex Warren’s Ordinary.
The new hosts split presenting responsibilities with Willis and Widdicombe by the judges’ table while Radebe welcomed the dancers on the balcony ahead of the score reveal. The first show did not include a public vote or elimination.
