Strictly Come Dancing host contender would “love” to take over from Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly

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Zoe Ball has addressed the increasing speculation that she’s likely to become the new host of Strictly Come Dancing, following Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s departures.

Last year, fans were surprised to hear that the show’s popular hosts were retiring and would be leaving after the 2025 season of Strictly.

The pair announced on Instagram that they’ve enjoyed working together and called hosting ‘Strictly’ a dream come true.

“We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.”

Ever since the announcement, many potential hosts have been suggested, including Alex Jones, Bradley Walsh, Rylan Clark, and Zoe Ball. Notably, Rylan and Zoe have both hosted shows related to Strictly Come Dancing in the past.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the former host of It Takes Two admitted she’d be interested in hosting again, but will happily remain a viewer regardless of who takes on the role.

Speaking of the show, Ball added: “This is the hilarious thing, it’s all anyone talks to me about.

I’m really heartbroken about Tess and Claud – I loved them both very much. It feels like everyone is being talked about right now.

I really enjoy that show! It was fantastic working on it with Ian Waite, who’s become a close friend. It’s such a happy, energetic program, and people don’t always appreciate how challenging live television is. It’s a demanding show, and anyone who takes it on has a lot to live up to.

Currently, the BBC hasn’t announced who will host the next series of Strictly Come Dancing, but they’ve said details about the 2026 show will be revealed later.

BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips stated in a recent appearance on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast that the search for new presenters won’t begin until next year.

Right now, the production team, including BBC Studios and Sarah James and her team, are focused on releasing two episodes each week. Because of this, they don’t have time to schedule screen tests or chemistry reads.

We’re not rushing into anything with this, thankfully. We really want to make sure we put on an amazing series of Strictly, so we’re planning to properly look at it after the New Year. But wow, the emails have been crazy! I’ve been absolutely flooded with messages.

I can’t reveal any names, but this is a really fantastic opportunity in television, and we’ve received a lot of interest from talented people, which is wonderful. We’re carefully considering our next steps, but it’s clear we can’t accommodate everyone who’s applied.

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Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer later this year.

Authors

Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer

Katelyn Mensah writes about entertainment for TopMob, covering everything from popular TV shows and reality competitions to important documentaries. Before joining TopMob, she worked at The Tab, where she focused on reality TV and celebrity news. She has a degree in Journalism.

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2026-01-19 16:09