Rylan Clark has broken his silence on losing out on the Strictly Come Dancing hosting gig, as Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe, and Josh Widdicombe were announced as the new presenters. The trio will take over the ballroom dance competition in September after long-serving hosts Tess Daly, 57, and Claudia Winkleman, 54, quit last year.
Now Rylan has shared his emotional response to missing out on the huge BBC gig, posting his hilariously iconic X Factor crying video. Alongside the clip of himself famously breaking down in tears when mentor Nicole Scherzinger put him through to the live shows in 2012, Rylan shared a statement.
He penned: 'Just wanted to say as it was reported I was in "The Race" for Strictly, the biggest congrats to my Emma and equal congrats to Johannes and Josh. You're all going to have the best time. Made up for you's. This wasn't my time sadly but am extremely grateful to even have been considered. I'm taking the news really well (see next slide) but genuinely looking forward to the new series with you three x.'
The new hosts were selected after being whisked off to a 'secret destination' during the 'hush-hush' auditions earlier this year. BBC bosses picked the trio after inviting a number of stars including Sara Cox, Zoe Ball, and Rylan for chemistry tests.
After the new hosts were revealed, Sara Cox, who recently bagged the Radio 2 Breakfast show following Scott Mills' sudden exit, also lifted the lid on the top secret Strictly audition process during her radio show on Tuesday. She said: 'I tried out for Strictly. And I will say I tried out for it two days after I got offered my number one, all-time, dream job of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show. So I was like, "Oh, I'll go along and try for Strictly as well, why not, and what next? News at Ten?" So I went along, and it was the most gorgeous experience. I got into a car that was taking me to a secret destination. It was all hush-hush, and it was basically a bit like, you know, when you can go and play the Crystal Maze interactive game? It was like that. I was like, "Great, I'm going to be a Strictly presenter for an hour!" The whole thing was really great fun.'
Sara congratulated Emma, Josh, and Johannes for coming out on top in the auditions, and she is relieved that their signing was announced on Tuesday following months of speculation. She added: 'I'm pleased now for all the gossip, and all the WhatsApp groups can calm the heck down, going, "Who is it?"'
Meanwhile, Zoe Ball, who has been a stalwart of the BBC for over 30 years, recently told of her 'grief' at not landing the role having auditioned. Thanks to her presenting stint on the show's spin-off It Takes Two from 2011 to 2021, and her popularity with the general public, she was considered a top candidate. 'I didn't get it, but it's okay,' she said on an episode of the Dig It podcast with Jo Whiley. 'I have worked through the seven stages of grief and rejection over the last couple of days.'
Elsewhere, Strictly's new hosts Emma, Josh, and Johannes joked the show 'could be an absolute disaster', after taking over from Tess and Claudia. The BBC show teased a behind-the-scenes look of the trio getting ready for their official photoshoot on Instagram on Wednesday. In the video shared on Instagram stories, the trio admitted they were 'petrified'.
Josh said: 'It doesn't feel real, right?' Johannes was then asked how he felt about 'not being part of that dancing team'. The professional dancer, who has been on the show since 2018, replied: 'I'm not hanging up my dancing shoes as yet. I cannot. I mean, what is my life without a cha cha cha?'
The next clip showed the trio chatting by the make-up chair about landing the presenting gig. Josh said: 'Genuinely this is the most exciting thing in my life, that I've ever kept to myself.' Emma said her 'tummy is flipping consistently' from nerves. She said: 'I imagine it's how you feel when you know you've got to walk down the stairs, dancing the cha cha! Like everything goes to jelly. That's how I feel thinking about what we're about to do.' Johannes admitted while it is 'petrifying', it is exciting. Josh then joked as he sat in the make-up chair: 'I've just realised I've been booked for something with two of the most striking looking people on television, and I look like me. Absolute disaster.'
