Zoe Ball was left "devastated" after being rejected for a presenting role on Strictly Come Dancing, her close friend and former dance partner Ian Waite has revealed.
The broadcaster was among several famous faces who auditioned to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman following their departures last year. Having previously competed on Strictly before hosting its spin-off show, Strictly: It Takes Two, Ball was considered a frontrunner for the role. However, she ultimately missed out to Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe.
Waite recalls learning the news
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk on behalf of BestBettingBonuses.co.uk, former Strictly professional Ian Waite recalled being one of the first people to learn that Ball had been unsuccessful.
He shared: "Zoe is Strictly through and through, you know. Obviously, I worked with Zoe, I danced with Zoe on the show, and then we went on to do It Takes Two for 10 years together. So we're very close, and I just think that she would have been perfect for the job."
"I think maybe, you know, they were thinking, we have to move forward and have fresh blood in there rather than go back to [previous] hosts. But I love Zoe. You know, we're like brother and sister because we're so close in age as well, and I think very, very similar."
"We've both probably got a little bit of ADHD in us, and we're both like long-legged blondes, struggling to coordinate our limbs, you know," he laughed. "But we were the perfect match, so it was lovely. And yeah, I know that she was devastated [by the decision]. And when she told me, she told me she didn't get the job before it was announced, so I kind of knew."
Contenders and Ball's reaction
Waite acknowledged that there had been "quite a few" contenders for the presenting role, including Rylan Clark and Alison Hammond, adding that the final choice of trio was "interesting".
Ball previously admitted that she went through "seven stages of grief and rejection" after learning she had not landed the job. Speaking to Jo Whiley on their Dig It podcast before the new presenting line-up was announced, the 55-year-old said the show would be "in safe hands" and that the new hosts "are going to be fabulous".
Although she missed out on the presenting role she had hoped for, Ball later announced she was joining Greatest Hits Radio following her departure from BBC Radio 2.
Waite's current tour
Waite is currently touring with Legends in Vegas: After Hours, alongside fellow former Strictly professionals Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev and Vincent Simone.
Reflecting on the audience's response to the show, he said: "Everybody seems to love it. I think we give something a little bit different than the current pros on Strictly. You know, we're competitors from years and years gone. I competed when Anton [Du Beke] was competing, so, you know, we go back a long, long way."
"And there's a lot of characters in there and there's a lot of banter goes on, so it's not just the dancing. There's a lot more than that. There's a lot more camaraderie and that bond. It's quite nice, actually. It's lovely."
