host

Speculation has been rife that Zoe Ball is being lined up to take over Strictly Come Dancing as host following the exit of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman – and now she has hinted this may well be what will happen this year

Zoe Ball has confirmed she would “love” to host Strictly Come Dancing following the shock exit of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman last year. The 55-year-old radio and TV host is a firm favourite to take over hosting duties on the long-running BBC dance show.

However, Zoe has also warned that whoever does end up taking the reigns from Tess and Claudia will have big shoes to fill. It is not as though Zoe is unfamiliar with Strictly, however, as she was a contestant herself during season three back in 2005 and hosted spin-off show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two from 2011 until 2020 – and even stood in to host the main show in 2014.

Speculation has been rife that Zoe could take over as main host – thanks, in part, to her strong association with the hit BBC show. And after she recently quit her Saturday Radio 2 show, fans have noted that her weekends are now free to take over the TV show.

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Opening up to The Sunday Times Style Magazine, she gushed: “Obviously there’s part of me that would love to do it. I love that show. I loved performing on it with Ian Waite, who is one of my best buddies. It’s so joyful.”

However, she did add: “It’s live telly, which is another thing that people don’t give the girls enough credit for. That show is a beast. Whoever gets to do it has a tough act to follow.’

Zoe’s teasing comments come hot on the heels of remarks from her father, broadcaster Johnny Ball, who suggested his daughter would be a shoe-in for the job. And he even suggested she would be even better at the role than outgoing stars Tess and Claudia.

He told the Express last month: “Nothing’s going to be decided until after Easter, but she’s in the mix, and people are coming to her, but it’s too early to say.” And he added: “I think she would love it, I think she would love the job because she took over from Claudia on It Takes Two, and if anything, she did a better job than Claudia.”

Johnny’s update comes after Zoe stoked speculation she will host Strictly when she shared a horoscope message on Instagram that promised big changes for Sagittarians in 2026. The post stated: “It will be a powerful year for you. There’s a lot of newness and freshness coming into your life. There’s a lot to feel and heal.”

The caption continued: “You’re clearing a lot of old karma this year, karma that is older than you in this life, karma that encompasses much larger cycles of who you are. You are being asked to find your way back home, to where you belong within yourself.”

And it concluded: “This year wants you to unlearn so many things and meet yourself in an organic and raw way, without any filters or glitters, just to experience yourself clean and clear.”

Last year, Strictly fans were blindsided when Tess and Claudia abruptly quit the scandal-hit show in the middle of the 2025 season. The duo suddenly announced that they planned to walk away from the show after decades of service, stating it was “the right time” to leave – after the show had been rocked by years of affair scandals and behind-the-scenes abuse claims.

After hosting their last ever show at Christmas last year, Tess took to social media to express her gratitude for being able to helm the show since it first launched in 2004 until the end of 2025. She wrote: “Strictly is a show that is made with love, where joy is the currency and the only agenda. That love is down to every single member of the brilliant team that makes it, because to none of them is it just a job. It is a gift, and it is truly treasured.”

Sir Bruce Forsyth was her original co-host when the show first began – and scandal risked engulfing the family friendly weekend show since the first season. It has long been claimed there is a “curse” on the show that destroys marriages and relationships.

Many contestants that have appeared on the show over the years have ditched their wives, husbands or partners to run off with professional dance stars. While in more recent years, darker stories of backstage attacks have leaked – with allegations and confirmation that some dance professionals physically attacked their celebrity co stars when tensions exploded behind the scenes of the squeaky clean image show.

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Fresh off the finale of Netflix’s seemingly endless run of “Stranger Things,” one of its stars, Finn Wolfhard, did one of the rites of passage that child actors sometimes do on the road to adult roles: host “Saturday Night Live.”

If the appearance wasn’t exactly a blow-out comedic performance — Wolfhard seemed game throughout but awkward and too understated in some sketches — it was notable at least for starting what is likely to be a barrage of post-”Stranger Things” appearances and roles for its entire cast, something alluded to in a pre-taped sketch about all the potential spinoffs, sequels and side quests Netflix may have in store.

For his “SNL” debut (his appearance as a page in the “Saturday Night” feature film doesn’t count), Wolfhard got to podcast with the preteen “Snack Homiez” crew (including Sabrina Carpenter, who returned for the sketch), played an indie rock son rebelling against his pop star dad (James Austin Johnson), a well-fed space emperor in a wacky sci-fi sketch, and the boyfriend of a too-enthusiastic guys’ girl (Veronika Slowikowska) who fails to impress his friends.

But his appearance will probably best be remembered for a spot-on “Heated Rivalry” parody set in the “Harry Potter” world (more on that perfect storm of comedy in a bit).

Musical guest A$AP Rocky performed “Punk Rocky” with Danny Elfman on drums and “Don’t Be Dumb/Trip Baby.” Before the closing goodbyes, a title card honored Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, who died this week.

In 2026, James Austin Johnson’s impression of President Trump is still a rambling marvel, but for the first cold open of the year, the material felt like too much of a recap or retread of previous greatest hits. Marcello Hernández played a mostly-silent Marco Rubio who Trump berates for speaking Spanish. Tina Fey returned as Kristi Noem with some great zingers (“Do I have the situation under control? Noem, I do not.”), but it was almost a beat-for-beat repeat of the bit she did to better effect when Amy Poehler hosted. Colin Jost again played Pete Hegseth as an overly pumped bully. The only new element, apart from Trump looking out windows, was Jeremy Culhane‘s debut as vice president J.D. Vance. “I’m here to kick bubble gum and chew ass and I’m all out of bubble gum,” Vance said. The cold open concluded with Trump promising, “The midterms are canceled.” Which only serves to remind us that there’s likely to be a lot of Trump cold opens between now and November.

For his monologue, Wolfhard was joined by his “Stranger Things” co-stars Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin after showing a few jokey clips illustrating how much he grew up on the show, including going through puberty. Wolfhard tried to prove that he’s a full-grown 23-year-old man now, but he’s still got no real facial hair and doesn’t like alcohol (he spits some into Hernández’s face after congratulating him on his new stand-up comedy special). Wolfhard and his co-stars reaffirmed their friendship before he declared they are “child stars who are now ready to do adult films!”

Best sketch of the night: ‘Heated Wizardry’ is the sexy reboot we didn’t know we needed

Sometimes the best “SNL” sketch isn’t just the funniest, but the one that is perfectly timed, with exactly the right host for just the moment in the zeitgeist for it to hit the hardest. Such is the case with this “Harry Potter” parody timed to everyone’s current obsession with HBO Max’s “Heated Rivalry.” Here, Harry (Wolfhard) and Ron Weasley (Ben Marshall) become romantically entangled Quidditch teammates, but the teaser for the fake series promises that everyone is older than 18 and Hogwarts is now some sort of college. There’s pixelated nudity, grudging approval from Professor Snape (Johnson) and Jason Momoa as Hagrid, who says that like Neville, “You are one long bottom!” Oh, the terrible puns.

Also good: Do you not find these snacks pleasing, emperor?

There are those who will tell you that “Snack Homiez” is the funniest thing “SNL” has done in a long time; I am not one of those people. Instead, I found this goofy sketch about an enthusiastic “Snack Man” to an evil space emperor on a show called “Dark Orbit” to be much sillier and funnier, driven by Mikey Day’s always welcome attempts to push his fellow cast members or hosts into breaking character and laughing. This time, force feeding Wolfhard led to several cast members losing their cool.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: Tamara owes you no explanation for the button collecting

Kam Patterson portrayed NFL legend Michael Irvin in a scattered segment about his devotion to the University of Miami, but it was Jane Wickline (who’s proven divisive among “SNL” fans) emerging as the week’s “Update” winner playing the mysterious woman, Tamara, behind the 365 buttons TikTok meme. As with the comments that inspired the meme, Wickline played Tamara as someone who refused to reveal why they’re collecting a button a day, sparring defensively with “Update” co-host Michael Che. At the end of the segment, she revealed she has a solution to the crisis in Venezuela, but won’t reveal that solution. “I just have to go there and understand how to want to know,” Tamara said.

Cinephiles, assemble.

Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be revealed Thursday in a livestream that’s sure to spur some chatter. While critics seem to agree on a few locks, as this month’s Golden Globes — and last year’s Oscars, for that matter — proved, there’s always room for surprise.

Here’s everything you need to know about the announcement.

How can I watch?

Actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman will announce the nominees in all 24 categories, including the new casting award, in a livestream from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The presentation will kick off at 5:30 a.m. Pacific, and viewers can tune in live to the Academy’s website and social media platforms or to ABC’s “Good Morning America.” It will also stream on “ABC News Live,” Disney+ and Hulu. American Sign Language services will be available on YouTube. Nine of the categories will be revealed at 5:30 a.m., and the 15 remaining ones will be announced at 5:41 a.m. after a short break.

Brooks received an Oscar nomination for her role in “The Color Purple” (2024), and Pullman starred in “Top Gun: Maverick,” which won the Oscar for sound in 2023. He also co-starred alongside Amanda Seyfried in “The Testament of Ann Lee,” another awards contender this season.

When are the Oscars?

The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu. The show starts at 4 p.m. Pacific.

Who’s hosting the awards show?

Conan O’Brien will return as host after his knockout performance in 2025, which helped the show draw its biggest audience in five years.

As Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Chief Executive Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a notably early announcement of O’Brien’s encore, “Conan was the perfect host — skillfully guiding us through the evening with humor, warmth and reverence.”

The seasoned comic this past year made an appearance in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” whose star Rose Byrne is likely to receive a nod in the actress category.

Who are the projected front-runners?

Ryan Coogler’s horror standout “Sinners” is projected to lead nominations with as many as 15. Along with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” the film may tie or even break the record for most Oscar nominations (14), which was first set by “All About Eve” (1951) and later matched by “Titanic” (1998) and “La La Land” (2017).

Other top contenders include Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” which took the best drama Golden Globe, Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” and Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme.” Plus, after “The Secret Agent” notched a couple Globes wins, the Brazilian political thriller has its sights set on an Oscar next.

As for the individual categories, “Hamnet’s” Jessie Buckley is a sure bet for actress, and Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio are shoo-ins for their roles in “Marty Supreme” and “One Battle,” respectively. Chalamet beat DiCaprio for the Golden Globe Award on Sunday.

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

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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Lauren Laverne and Roman Kemp hosted The One Show on Tuesday night

The One Show host Lauren Laverne has shared a heartfelt tribute to a TV icon after their tragic death. Lauren, alongside her co-host Roman Kemp, fronted the popular BBC show on Tuesday (January 13), covering the day’s top stories.

Studio guests included Paddy McGuinness and Cherry Healey, who discussed the upcoming series of Inside the Factory, whilst Griff Rhys-Jones talked about his forthcoming West End performance in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister.

Penned and helmed by Jonathan Lynn, the BAFTA-winning co-creator behind Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, the fresh satirical production serves as a final send-off to two iconic figures in British comedy – ex-Prime Minister Jim Hacker and his formidable adversary, Sir Humphrey Appleby.

Griff is set to portray Hacker, with Clive Francis taking on the role of Appleby, at the Apollo Theatre starting January 30, reports Wales Online.

During her conversation with Griff on this evening’s instalment of The One Show, Lauren paused to acknowledge his former comedy collaborator, Mel Smith, who tragically died aged 60 in 2013 after suffering a heart attack.

“[You] have big shoes to fill and who better to fill them because Yes, Minister has its place in comedy history, you know, so do you. Can you believe it was 40 years ago that you introduced Queen at Live Aid with your late comedy partner Mel Smith?” Lauren remarked.

Footage of that legendary moment was subsequently shown on screen, with Lauren noting: “I read that this was typical prep for Mel, the runup to this.”

Griff humorously recalled: “Well, what happened, we introduced Queen, and Queen would have been nothing if we hadn’t of been there. Do you remember from the film, they go away and rehearsed for three weeks, and Mel rehearsed for three seconds with me.

“He arrived and said, ‘What are we doing mate?’ And I said, ‘Oh look, here, look, say this when we go on,’ and Mel goes, ‘Okay, love,’ and off we go.”

Lauren chimed in: “He had that photographic memory didn’t he?” to which Griff agreed: “Yeah, he did. He was very, very quick on the uptake.

“I remember it, of course 40 years ago, because as soon as we’d finished, he sat down and he went, ‘Ah, well there we are mate, I’m off’. And I said, ‘Mel! I skipped my child’s christening to be here and you’re leaving!’ And so, all it does is help me this year to remember exactly how old [my son] George is.”

Roman wrapped up the conversation saying: “I always love hearing about those comedy partnerships and how they work together.”

Elsewhere on tonight’s show, BBC Morning Live host Gethin Jones reported live from Manchester Cathedral, showcasing an immersive light experience.

The One Show airs weeknights on BBC One at 7pm

Some clubs eschew the host family approach in favour of a boarding system, in which players live together in dormitories on club property, the most famous being Barcelona’s La Masia.

“There are strengths and weaknesses to both models,” says Sam Bayford, Brentford‘s academy head of safeguarding.

“The reason we went with our model is that we want to give the players a real break, a geographical and psychological separation rather than living with and sleeping next to the lads they’ve been training with all day.”

Adolescence is a key time for personal, physical and technical development in young footballers – done right, the management of an academy player’s living situation can propel them forwards.

From age 15 Theo Walcott spent two years living at Darwin Lodge, a boarding house run by Southampton until 2010, which the former England international credits with underpinning his successful career.

Walcott lived at the Lodge alongside players like Adam Lallana, Nathan Dyer, and Leon Best, and shared a bedroom with five-time Champions League winner Gareth Bale.

“Being around the other players all the time I found really hard at the start,” the former Arsenal winger tells BBC Sport. “But the environment was built to be like you were in a proper home.

“When you have a lot of good players in the same age group around each other constantly every day, you can feed off each other, always willing to do well together.

“People would act silly sometimes. You would come home and the lights would all be off and you’d know you were in trouble because Gareth and a lot of the other players would be waiting with their underpants on their head and batter you with pillows! You’d have to dart to your room but luckily I was quick.

“Put us all together in a room even now, it’s like we saw each other yesterday.”