Television has always been a little like a family kitchen, where the people who stand at the stove change more often than the recipe, and so it is with Strictly Come Dancing, the Saturday evening ritual that has long sat at the heart of British living rooms. This autumn, a pairing that had felt almost permanent, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, gave way to a trio of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, each given a different kind of work to do. Early critics were unkind, treating the arrangement as an awkward experiment that had not yet found its feet, and the sharpest scorn fell
Strictly's new hosting trio: frosty start, but are they finding their rhythm?
Viewers can't vote the hosts off.
Mark
Why does a change of presenters get this much attention?
Mimi
Because Strictly is a Saturday night fixture, and the two people before them had been in the job a long time. Replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman was always going to invite comparison.
Mark
And they changed the format too, not just the faces.
Mimi
Yes, three hosts instead of two, with Radebe upstairs where Winkleman used to be and Willis and Widdicombe on the floor. Critics say that altered the show's rhythm.
Luke
The early reviews were brutal, though. Are we sure they've really improved?
Mimi
That's a fair worry. The improvement comes from critics and a dance academic, so it's opinion rather than measurement. Lewis says it's better but not solved, and Frost still wants less scripting.
Mark
What about the ratings drop?
Mimi
About six million viewers a week, down about a million.
Luke
But nobody in the piece links that to the hosts. Sayers says outright she's not sure. So I wouldn't read the dip as a verdict on them.
Mark
Is there a fix being suggested?
Mimi
Frost's idea is to swap roles, with Widdicombe on the mezzanine and Radebe as a talent pundit. It's her suggestion, not a plan from the producers.
Luke
Right, and the piece doesn't say the BBC is considering any of it. That remains unknown.
Der Puls
- Harsh first reviews called the new three-presenter line-up a muddle, with comedian Josh Widdicombe absorbing most of the criticism.
- Critics say the trio is slowly settling in, but Widdicombe's comic instincts and scripted banter still jar against the tight twenty-second windows with judges.
- Producers are trying to find the right fit, with Radebe on the mezzanine interviewing contestants and Willis anchoring the live shows.
- Ratings have slipped by roughly a million viewers, and the next reshuffle, perhaps moving Widdicombe upstairs, is the question hanging over the coming episodes.
Television has always been a little like a family kitchen, where the people who stand at the stove change more often than the recipe, and so it is with Strictly Come Dancing, the Saturday evening ritual that has long sat at the heart of British living rooms. This autumn, a pairing that had felt almost permanent, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, gave way to a trio of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, each given a different kind of work to do. Early critics were unkind, treating the arrangement as an awkward experiment that had not yet found its feet, and the sharpest scorn fell on Widdicombe, a comedian asked to become something new in front of millions. A month in, the verdict is softening, though not yet settled, and the audience has thinned somewhat, leaving the question of whether the change itself or the wider moment is responsible still open.
A month into the new series of Strictly Come Dancing, the critics who savaged the hosting line-up in September are beginning to soften, though the verdict is far from in. The BBC's Saturday night institution swapped its long-running pairing of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for three presenters with distinct roles: Emma Willis, steady and experienced; Josh Widdicombe, a comedian with no prior link to dance or prime-time TV; and Johannes Radebe, a former professional dancer who has taken over Winkleman's old post on the mezzanine, talking to celebrities after their routines.
The first reviews were harsh. The Times called the trio TV's most awkward ménage à trois, and the Telegraph described the arrangement as a muddle and a confusing pudding. Widdicombe bore most of the blame, with one critic calling him an awkward spare part. Isobel Lewis of the Independent says things have improved, though not entirely. She finds him still too much the comedian, most confident reading from the autocue, and most uncertain when he chases spontaneity in those brief windows with the judges. She thinks it unfair to pin everything on him, and notes that some fans are warming to him online.
Caroline Frost of Radio Times agrees the trio are relaxing very slowly. She understands the caution given the clock and the scale of a live show, but wants Widdicombe, whom she calls very likeable and very funny, to loosen his reliance on script. She has suggested a reshuffle, sending him upstairs for post-dance interviews and turning Radebe into a talent pundit who explains the technical work in rehearsal rooms.
Radebe has won admirers. Flo Sayers, of the Strictly on the Sofa podcast, sees him as a supportive friend to contestants who feel exposed after leaving the floor, and Dr Karen Wood of Coventry University praises how gracefully he has made the leap from dancer to host. Willis, Wood adds, is holding her own, and last week was the first time she felt the live pairing was genuinely funny.
The numbers are less kind. About six million people are watching each week, down roughly a million, and Sayers doubts the presenters alone are to blame. Wood expects things to improve as the celebrities do, with one difference: viewers cannot vote the hosts off. The next episode airs on BBC One at 18:30 on Saturday.
A month into the new series of Strictly Come Dancing, the verdict on its hosting line-up is still out, but the critics who savaged it in September are softening. The BBC's flagship Saturday night show swapped the long-running pairing of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for three presenters with different jobs: Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe. Few expected the handover to be smooth, and it wasn't.
The roles are split in a way the show hasn't tried before. Willis, an experienced and steady presenter, and Widdicombe, a comedian with no previous link to the dance world or prime-time TV, work together on the live shows. His task is to add humour before and after each dance. Radebe, a former professional dancer on the show, has taken over Winkleman's old spot on the mezzanine, where he talks to the celebrities after their routines.
The first reviews were harsh. The Times' Carol Midgley called the trio "TV's most awkward ménage à trois". The Daily Telegraph's Chris Bennion went further, calling the new "throuple" an utter disaster and describing it as a mess, a muddle and a confusing pudding. Widdicombe took most of the heat. The Daily Express's Sasha Morris said he looked like an awkward spare part and the work experience boy, and the Independent's Isobel Lewis wrote that he was a problem the show needed to solve.
Lewis, a freelance culture journalist, told BBC News that things have since improved, though not entirely. In her view he is still acting too much like a comedian to be a presenter. When he and Willis introduce each act from the autocue, she says, they look far more confident. The trouble comes when he reaches for spontaneity. The presenters get roughly 20 seconds with each judge, and in that tight window his interjections can feel sloppy, as if he is stealing attention or chasing the last laugh. Lewis doesn't think that is selfish. She puts it down to his comedic impulse, and says it is unfair to pin all the blame on him. Online comments, she notes, suggest some fans are warming to him.
Caroline Frost, the Radio Times TV and podcast editor, agrees there were bumps in the first couple of episodes and says the trio are very slowly relaxing. She would like to see more spontaneity from the Willis and Widdicombe double act, which she says leans visibly on scripts and gags. She finds the caution understandable given the clock and the demands of a live show on that scale, but argues the truly talented can manage it on the fly, and that Widdicombe, whom she calls very likeable and very funny, should take off the handcuffs of the script.
Frost also floated a reshuffle. She suggests sending Widdicombe upstairs for the post-dance interviews, since Radebe sometimes struggles to rein in his exuberant former fellow dancers. She would use Radebe as a kind of talent pundit, in the rehearsal rooms explaining what is happening technically, a go-between linking the dance floor to the work behind it. Before the series there were reports Radebe would be a roving reporter, and Widdicombe had told The Rest Is Entertainment the trio would work like total football, moving everywhere. In practice, the main roles look fixed, though some segments, especially on the Sunday results show, are more flexible.
Radebe has won admirers in Winkleman's old territory. Flo Sayers, co-host of the Strictly on the Sofa podcast, says he is the link to previous series and acts less as a comedian than as a supportive friend to contestants who may feel vulnerable after leaving the floor. She also praises his fashion. Dr Karen Wood, an associate professor at Coventry University's Centre for Dance Research, says he has moved beautifully from professional to host and can discuss technical detail. She says Willis is holding her own, and that last week was the first time she thought the two on the live show were actually funny.
The numbers are less kind. About six million people are watching each week this year, down by about a million, though Sayers isn't sure the presenters are the reason. Wood expects them to improve alongside the celebrities, with one difference: viewers can't vote the hosts off. The next episode airs on BBC One at 18:30 BST on Saturday.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
He's basically acting too much like a comedian to be a presenter.— Isobel Lewis, freelance culture journalist
They do appear to be very slowly relaxing into their new roles.— Caroline Frost, Radio Times
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