Strictly

ALL Saints star Melanie Blatt says taking part in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special stripped away her confidence.

The 1990s girl group singer, 50, said she did not feel comfortable in the flowing yellow dress she wore, which she said made her “look like custard”.

Speaking to Good Housekeeping UK she said: “I felt extremely vulnerable.

“It’s taken me 50 years to feel as good as I have ever felt about myself and Strictly stripped it away from me. Nothing dodgy went on — I think they’re on their best behaviour — but I just didn’t feel comfortable in a dress.”

Mum Mel and her professional dance partner Kai Widdrington finished fifth out of six couples after performing an American smooth in the telly extravaganza.

It was won by TV host Scarlett Moffatt and Vito Coppola, who got a perfect 40 score for their cha-cha-cha.

read more on melanie blatt

JINGLE MEL

Melanie Blatt reveals reason she’s signed up for Strictly Christmas special

BEHIND THE MUSIC

Nicole & I were pregnant – All Saints’ bosses weren’t happy, says Melanie

Despite finishing second from bottom, Mel and Kai scored 36 out of 40 and she was hailed “fabulous” by judges Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke.

Mel had been tipped to take part in the full series this autumn but her comments suggest there is no way back.

Yet following her Christmas Day dance on the BBC One show, watched by 7.75million at home, Mel told host Tess Daly: “I really enjoyed it.

In a telling remark, she added: “It’s been amazing yet challenging, getting out of my comfort zone, having to wear a dress, having to look like custard . . . all of these things.”

A source insisted that Mel had taken her own dress which was “styled and adjusted” by the Strictly costume team to her specifications.

They added: “Strictly would never make anyone wear something they felt uncomfortable in.”

Mel, who had five No1 singles with All Saints, revealed last year that she was serving burgers at a North London boozer.

She is no longer in the pub but wants to start a new career in the food industry.

Mel, who performed in All Saints with Shaznay Lewis and sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton said: “The main thing I want from life is peace and happiness.

“My dream is to do a cookery book or have my own cookery programme, something like ‘Cheeses of the World’. I will make it happen.”

• Mel’s full interview can be read now in April’s Good Housekeeping.

Strictly Come Dancing bosses are reportedly considering This Morning’s Sian Welby for a presenting role on the BBC series following the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman

This Morning star Sian Welby is reportedly being considered for the hosting job on Strictly Come Dancing. Towards the end of last year, long-standing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman shocked the nation when they announced that they had quit after more than a decade on air together.

Ever since the news broke, rumours have been rife with who might take on the coveted roles on the BBC Saturday night favourite, with celebrities such as X Factor star Rylan Clark, former Strictly finalist Fleur East and Bake Off’s Mel Giedroyc all being thrown into the mix.

But now, it’s thought that bosses are looking at Sian, a radio host and occasional This Morning presenter, who, coincidentally, bears a resemblance to Tess.

READ MORE: Shirley Ballas sparks fears she’s quit Strictly Come Dancing for rival showREAD MORE: Strictly’s Anton Du Beke ‘wanted to start again’ as he shares real reason for name change

Sian, 39, has become a favourite amongst the younger audience with her presenting job on Capital FM, and also stands in on This Morning, often appearing on main hosting duties with Dermot O’Leary and fronting the ITV Daytime competitions that often run across Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Loose Women.

A source said: “Sian might be less well-known than other names linked with Tess and Claudia’s jobs so far. But she’s got everything it takes with one special ingredient — a younger audience, thanks to her job on trendy Capital FM.

Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “And working on This Morning ticks all the TV boxes. Execs have looked at her as someone who would be a good fit for the job!”

It comes just days after Zoe Ball and Emma Willis were both said to be going for the same job on the programme. Ahead of the series’ presumed return later this year, radio host Zoe, 55, and former Big Brother presenter Emma, 49, were said to be battling it out for the top job, and only one of them will be successful because bosses want to have someone “a bit more left field” for the other position.

A source said: “It’s a straight shoot-out between Zoe, who is the front-runner, and Emma. Only one will get it, not both. The senior execs want a traditional presenter working alongside a more left-field person, a female stand-up comedian.”

Fans can also expect the comedic aspects to continue in the programme in the style of Claudia, who has also enjoyed major success with fellow BBC show The Traitors, as the source added: “It’s felt the humour Claudia brought to the show, particularly in her ‘Claudatorium’, needs to carry on.”

Ever since Tess and Claudia broke the news that they were leaving, several big showbiz names have been rumoured to be their replacements, including Chris and Rosie Ramsay, Rylan Clark, Holly Willoughby, Amanda Holden and Angela Scanlon, amongst a host of others.

In the initial announcement, which consisted of a video of the pair sitting next to one another, Claudia began with: “Hi, it’s Claud and Tess. There have been some rumblings, and we want you to hear this from us…” Tess added: “Yeah, we have news. After 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly, we have decided the time is right to step aside and pass on the baton…”

“The very sparkly baton…” Claudia continued before she turned to Tess and said: “You’ve been here since the beginning…” Tess, who used to host the show with the late Bruce Forsyth, then replied: “2004 with Brucey – lovely Bruce.

“That’s over two decades ago, and a lot of that time has been with you. It’s been a huge part of our lives, hasn’t it? Since our children were literally babes in arms, and now they’re young adults, and I think, genuinely, we have cherished every second.”

Claudia added: “We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show, and we just want to thank the Strictly team because Strictly is the people who make it so thank you…” Tess agreed: “They are the very best team in television. We’ve been so lucky.

“And the audience as well, they’ve been so wonderful. They’ve been with us for this entire journey of 21 years, and we wouldn’t have a show without them, and they’ve been just so loyal and supportive.”

Claudia added: “We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show, and we just want to thank the Strictly team because Strictly is the people who make it so thank you…” Tess agreed: “They are the very best team in television; we’ve been so lucky.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Fans of Strictly Come Dancing and classic episodes of the Great British Bake Off may have reason to celebrate as a former star of the cooking sow is tipped to take over as a host on the BBC show

A new name has risen like a proverbial soufflé in the ongoing search for a replacement host of Strictly Come Dancing. Last year, fans of the BBC show were shocked when long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman abruptly quit the show after years of service.

And now a former Bake Off star has been thrown into the mix of names tipped to replace the stars. Comedian Mel Giedroyc, who co-hosted the Channel 4 show back when it aired on the BBC from 2010 until 2016, is being touted as a new star of the dance show.

The 57-year-old TV star was herself a contestant on the 2021 Christmas Special of Strictly, where she was paired with professional dancer Neil Jones. And now it is being suggested she could take over from Claudia, 54, when Strictly returns to screens later this year.

READ MORE: Man who struggled to lose weight sheds 7 stone and gets abs after spotting Instagram ad READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe finally addresses ‘quitting’ speculation

A source told The Sun: “The Clauditorium is the section where the dancers go to receive their scores from the judges and decompress after their routines. So it needs to be hosted by someone with a gentle touch, who can use humour to relieve the tension.

“Mel is seen as a great swap for Claudia as they’re both smart, funny, and have a reputation within the TV world for being easy to work with. They’re both highly professional, well-liked by the public, and boast just the right balance of confidence and self-deprecation.” The Mirror has contacted representatives of Mel and the BBC for comment.

While Mel is a new name to emerge in the race to become a new Strictly host, many fans are expecting Zoe Ball to take over hosting from the ballroom floor. The 55-year-old presenter was a contestant on Strictly in 2005 and hosted spin-off show It Takes Two from 2011 until 2020.

Late last year, her father, Johnny Ball, 87, shared insight on the likelihood his radio host daughter will take the reins. Opening up to the Express, Johnny said last December: “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… 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.”

And just last month, Zoe herself teased that she may indeed be the new presenter. 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.”

Fans were blindsided when Tess and Claudia made the unusual decision to quit the series – announcing the news in the midst of the 2025 season. They issued a statement at the time, declaring that they simply felt that the time had come for them to waltz away from the scandal-hit show.

In a joint statement at the time, the pair wrote: “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’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”

While Claudia added in a follow up statement: “It’s very difficult to put into words exactly what Strictly has meant to me. It’s been the greatest relationship of my career. From working on It Takes Two in 2004 until now it has been my everything, the show I will be eternally grateful for.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .