Strictly Come Dancing viewers have made their feelings clear about a major format change in this year's series, with 75 per cent saying they are not enjoying the comedy skits.
During last weekend's Halloween Special, hosts Josh Widdicombe, 43, Emma Willis, 50, and Johannes Radebe, 39, featured in multiple comedy sketches throughout the show. These segments saw Josh and Emma attempting to frighten judge Craig Revel Horwood, 61, before the comic let down his colleagues by declining to wear fancy dress for trick-or-treating, while the celebrities mimicked Johannes' distinctive "Emma and Joshy" transition to his fellow hosts.
Viewer poll results
Judge Motsi Mabuse's younger sister, ex-Strictly professional Oti Mabuse, 36, appeared unconvinced by the comedy segments and encouraged fans to voice their opinions through a poll on her and husband Marius Iepure's live-streamed vodcast, The Fifth Judge.
The pair asked their YouTube audience: "Do all the skits work for you? Do you like the jokes? Do you like when the judges are involved? Do you like when the pros are reading the social stuff, and they're doing the 'Emma and Joshy' thing? Are you laughing?"
Following the votes in the chat, Oti disclosed that an overwhelming 75 per cent responded "no, they do not work, they do not find them funny", while 25 per cent answered "yes, they are hilarious".
Hosts' reaction
Oti observed in reply: "Well, that's very telling! It says that people, at this point, just want to get on with the dancing."
The former Strictly champion and her professional dancer husband concurred with feedback from their viewers, with Oti revealing that Marius believes "it's a completely different show". Expanding on this point, Marius said that elements of Strictly's Halloween Special resembled "a comedy show that I didn't ask for", acknowledging he "laughed a little bit" at Josh, Emma and Johannes' trick-or-treating sketch, though he also felt that it "was so long".
Oti mentioned that one of their viewers, named Kate, had remarked: "I don't tend to laugh, but I think it's part of the charm."
Potential changes
The former Strictly professional then proposed that if BBC producers have incorporated the sketches to pad out the programme's duration, they could alternatively "cut the show shorter", or integrate the Results Show into Saturday night's broadcast, rather than transmitting it separately on Sundays, with Oti stating: "That would be a great change."
Strictly 2026 has split opinion amongst viewers after Emma, Josh and Johannes took over from long-serving presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who confirmed their departure from the BBC programme last year. Emma, who formerly presented Big Brother, has earned widespread acclaim from Strictly fans for her professionalism and presenting abilities, while Josh and Johannes have thus far attracted more varied responses.
That said, some feel the trio have grown into their roles, with Radio Times TV and podcast editor Caroline Frost noting: "I think it's fair to say there were some bumps in the road in the first couple of episodes, but they do appear to be very slowly relaxing into their new roles."
