New Strictly Come Dancing host Josh Widdicombe recently celebrated three years of sobriety
Strictly Come Dancing’s new presenter Josh Widdicombe has explained why he felt he had to give up alcohol.
The comic – set to front the BBC dance extravaganza alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe – recently marked three years of being teetotal with a heartfelt Instagram tribute.
The dad-of-two shared with followers that he felt “so incredibly lucky” to have quit, and no longer missed “the self-hatred of hungover parenting”.
“Three years without a drink this week,” the star revealed. “Celebrated my birthday with my family and an orange juice and soda (pint!).
“Things I have replaced it with: fizzy water, decaf tea, reading, running, increasing obsession with music.”
“Things I don’t miss: being sick, wondering what I did last night, finding out what I did last night, shame, the self-hatred of hungover parenting, wondering if people know I’m still drunk, thinking about the next time I drink and knowing that time it will be amazing, wondering why other people can just have two, nightclubs.”
“I feel so incredibly lucky to have stopped,” he expressed. “If you wish too, then it is possible. Speak to people you know who have, they will happily bore you senseless about it.”
Josh had previously confessed that booze had once felt like “everything”, reports OK!
He was quoted as saying on the Talk Nineties To Me podcast: “I often think that did come from the things I consumed media-wise in the 90s. I put it on a pedestal. I saw alcohol as everything.
“That’s TFI Friday, that’s the Brit Awards, that’s advertising for alcopops. All these things were, ‘This is where the fun is. The fun is in alcohol’.”
Speaking to Men’s Health in 2025, he revealed: “I didn’t drink all the time, but when I did, I couldn’t stop.
“I’m definitely not down on booze – I had some of the best times of my life when I was drinking and university was brilliant because of alcohol. I just relate to it all wrong.”
Josh has been announced as one of the new hosts of Strictly, joining TV personality Emma and professional dancer Johannes.
The trio are stepping into the shoes of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who bowed out following the conclusion of the previous series.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One.
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