Strictly Come Dancing’s new hosts were summoned to a shock zoom call at short notice which meant Emma Willis was sat on the loo when she was told she was told she had a new job.
Johannes Radebe, Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe in the promo for the new Strictly series.(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
Comedian Josh Widdecombe was in grave danger of giving away the news he was a new Strictly Come Dancing host whilst it was top secret – after finding out the news whilst walking around a cemetery.
Stand up star Josh, 43, revealed the bizarre moment as he and co-hosts Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe were quizzed in a new podcast. And he wasn’t the only one being given the life changing news in a weird place, with Emma flushed with the success of a new job whilst in the toilet at her hairdressers.
The trio said after their final audition they had to wait around two weeks before they were summoned to a zoom call at short notice by BBC execs.
Emma said: “We were all in very random places. But we also didn’t know the call was happening did we? It was a very weird situation.
“The reason it kept getting put back was because I was at the hairdressers.
“I was like this could be an either way Zoom so I’m not going to get excited. And I said ‘I can’ [go on a call] but literally I’m just I’m having my hair washed. And she said okay okay.
“And then they took ages washing my hair. And they’re like ‘do you want a massage?’ I’m like ‘no no just crack on’.
“She[show boss] said can you go somewhere private? And I said the only place I can go is outside in the street or in the loo.
“So I was sat on a toilet at the hairdressers.”
Johannes was at his home when he was on the same call waiting to head out to do a stage show, and then there was also Josh who was desperately trying to find a quiet spot.
Josh explained: “I was in Birmingham because I was on tour. So I was sat in a graveyard in Birmingham because I wanted somewhere quiet.”
Looking back on the moment he knew he had the job, he added: “I didn’t like stand up and go ‘yes’ because obviously it wasn’t public then either.
“Not that anyone would have gone ‘wait a minute, he got the Strictly gig – that guy punching the air by the grave’.”
Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, the trio also explained the role of Johannes on the show, and denied previous reports he would act as a ‘roving reporter’ with the other two as main hosts.
The trio, who start fronting the show later this month, are replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman who previously hosted the BBC hit series together for 11 years.
Emma said: “There’s no like for like, so no one’s kind of replacing anybody and at the minute it’s all very kind of open. We’re having lots of production days where we go in and we play around and we’re kind of feeling each other out – well, they’re feeling us out really.”
Josh Widdicombe: “It’s going to be like total football. We’re going to be moving everywhere.”
And Emma added: “There’s definitely no backstage roving reporter, which is what has been reported quite a bit. That’s not a thing.”
* The full interview is on The Rest Is Entertainment Podcast out today.
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