Josh Widdicombe Names Surprisingly 'Difficult' Part Of Hosting Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing host Josh Widdicombe has admitted there’s one part of the job he hadn’t prepared himself for.

The comedian recently took over as one of Strictly’s new co-hosts, presenting alongside TV personality Emma Willis and professional dancer Johannes Radebe.

Last week, the new trio fronted their first results show, which saw Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden being sent home by the judges over Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu.

Speaking on It Takes Two, Josh revealed he’d been somewhat taken aback by how emotional filming the elimination had been.

“I know this sounds weird but when I took the the Strictly job I didn’t realise how difficult eliminations were going to be,” he explained, claiming the “emotions” of the moment made filming it an “intense” experience.

“You feel terrible,” he claimed, adding: “You know what, being upstairs with JoJo talking to the couples that got through – what a sweet gig that is. Poor old Emma downstairs. We’re upstairs with the people who are through, but it’s [still] really sad.”

So far, reception to Strictly’s new hosts has been somewhat muted, with Josh in particular facing the ire of some critics.

Josh was announced as one of the replacements for outgoing Strictly presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman back in May, and admitted at the time that he was preparing himself for a wave of online “abuse”.

“I’m going to get dog’s abuse,” he remarked on his Parenting Hell podcast, adding: “We’re talking hypothetically at this point, because I haven’t looked at the internet since [the news was confirmed]. I don’t know [what people are saying], because I’ve deleted my Instagram app.”

Since live shows began, Craig Revel Horwood has defended the trio, while Emma also shared a veiled message on social media that appeared to be aimed at their detractors.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night at 6.15pm on BBC One.