A Strictly Come Dancing legend has aired viewers’ complaints about a major shake-up, revealing a jaw-dropping amount of fans said the show’s attempts at comedy did not work for them
The majority of Strictly fans told Oti and Marius that the show’s skits aren’t working(Image: BBC)
Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, 36, who won the Glitterball trophy twice with Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey before leaving the BBC show in 2022, has pointed out an issue she has with the 2026 series, which many viewers have picked up on too.
Oti, whose older sister is judge Motsi Mabuse, discusses Strictly every weekend on her vodcast, The Fifth Judge, alongside husband Marius Iepure, who is also a professional dancer. The pair regularly invite their viewers to get involved in polls to share their thoughts on the latest episode.
On Saturday’s livestream, Oti and Marius asked their YouTube audience about the introduction of comedic skits between the dances. Oti wondered: “Do all the skits work for you? Do you like the jokes? Do you like when the judges are involved? Do you like when the pros are reading the social stuff, and they’re doing the ‘Emma and Joshy’ thing? Are you laughing?”.
The topic was brought up in response to last weekend’s Halloween Special, during which hosts Josh Widdicombe, 43, Emma Willis, 50, and Johannes Radebe, 39, featured in multiple comedy sketches throughout the programme.
These segments saw Josh and Emma attempting to frighten famously stern judge Craig Revel Horwood, 61, before the comedian let down his co-presenters by declining to wear fancy dress for trick-or-treating, while the contestants mimicked Johannes’ distinctive “Emma and Joshy” handover to his fellow hosts.
Following the chat vote, Oti disclosed that an overwhelming 75 per cent responded “no, they do not work, they do not find them funny”, while just 25 per cent answered “yes, they are hilarious”.
Oti observed in response: “Well, that’s very telling! It says that people, at this point, just want to get on with the dancing.”
The former Strictly champion and her husband echoed the sentiment from their audience, with Oti revealing that Marius believes “it’s a completely different show”.
Expanding on this point, Marius stated that elements of Strictly’s Halloween Special resembled “a comedy show that I didn’t ask for”, acknowledging he “laughed a little bit” at Josh, Emma and Johannes’ trick-or-treating sketch, though he also felt that it “was so long”.
Oti mentioned that one of their viewers, named Kate, had commented: “I don’t tend to laugh, but I think it’s part of the charm.”
The former Strictly pro proceeded to suggest that if BBC bosses have incorporated the sketches to pad out the programme, they could alternatively “cut the show shorter”, or integrate the Results Show into Saturday night’s broadcast, rather than screening it separately on Sundays, with Oti declaring: “That would be a great change.”
Viewers also took to X to have their say on the skits over the weekend, with one typing: “Stop trying to make every link funny! Especially when you involve the judges who fluff their lines. #Strictly.”
“They really, really need to cut these “comedy” sketches from Strictly. They are awful, awkward and really not funny at all,” another viewer complained.
A third fan said the presenters had improved, writing: “I have to be honest Josh, Emma, & Johannes are growing on me! #Strictly.”
A fourth agreed: “@bbc I think Emma, Jojo and Josh are growing into their roles – give them time! We’re loving them #Strictly.”
Strictly 2026 has sparked debate amongst audiences after Emma, Josh and Johannes took over from long-serving presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who confirmed their departure from the BBC programme last year.
Emma, who formerly presented Big Brother, has earned widespread acclaim from Strictly fans for her professionalism and presenting abilities, while Josh and Johannes have attracted more divided opinions. Not everyone shares those reservations, however.
Radio Times TV and podcast editor Caroline Frost believes the presenting trio have grown into their roles, stating: “I think it’s fair to say there were some bumps in the road in the first couple of episodes, but they do appear to be very slowly relaxing into their new roles.”