Bradley Walsh has moved to distance himself from the vacant Strictly Come Dancing hosting position after the surprise exit of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly following the end of the latest series
Bradley Walsh ruled out a Strictly role(Image: ITV)
Strictly Come Dancing fans are eager to find out who will replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as hosts – but Bradley Walsh has made it clear it won’t be him. The presenter of The Chase, 65, had seen his name linked with the coveted post but has quickly moved to distance himself from such talk.
And he has a blunt reason as to why it’s not for him. The star simply claims it would “ruin” his weekends. He went as far as detailing what a typical weekend looks like and why he has no time for a new role on the BBC dance contest. “Here’s a potted version of my winter weekends,” he explained. “I come home from the studio on a Friday, have dinner and watch I’m a Celebrity.”
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Continuing to map out his routine in a chat with the Radio Times, he said: “On Saturday, I’ll watch the football results, have dinner and a pint, watch Strictly, then I’m a Celebrity, and flip back to the BBC for Match of the Day.
“On Sunday I get up late, watch some Columbo, then the football, followed by the Strictly results, then I’m a Celebrity, and then Match of the Day. If I was to host Strictly, it would absolutely ruin my weekend.”
His admission comes months after Claudia and Tess shocked fans with their announcement they were leaving after the latest series came to an end. The duo issued a joint statement at the time.
It said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.
“We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.”
They had fronted the BBC programme together since 2014. It was then that Claudia came in to replace Sir Bruce Forsyth, who presented the original series with Tess from 2004.
As well as Bradley, a number of stars have been linked with the vacant position. The latest name to drop in recent days is Christine Lampard – who is married to former footballer Frank Lampard.
She has reportedly become the front-runner to host Strictly Come Dancing. The 46-year-old TV host’s own work schedule has also been freed up following the recent dramatic changes at ITV.
Speaking about the speculation, a source recently told the Daily Mail: “She has a huge fanbase from her years fronting breakfast TV and is a pro at handling live TV, which is no mean feat.
“Producers love the idea of casting a presenter who has previously taken part in the show as a contestant, as it has worked really well in the past on spin-off show It Takes Two.”
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