Comedian Josh Widdicombe had a two-word response to criticism of his Strictly Come Dancing debut as he, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe face the huge task of replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman
Strictly Come Dancing’s Josh Widdicombe has responded to criticism of his first appearance on the iconic BBC show. Josh, 43, joined Emma Willis, 50, and Johannes Radebe, 39, on the launch show of Strictly over the weekend, replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman in fronting the show.
However, that has been intense debate over how the trio compared to the popular duo they replaced. Tess had fronted the show since its inception in 2004 while Claudia had been alongside her for more than a decade.
Josh opened up on the criticism during the Parenting Hell podcast with co-host Rob Beckett, his long-time friend and fellow comedian.
Beginning the part of the show in which they discussed Josh’s debut, Rob said: “I thought it was amazing!” To this Josh responded: “Thank you for being so kind. Thank you everyone for being so kind, genuinely.”
Later the pair discussed how the show went before Josh mentioned a tribute Rob had put up on Instagram and a comment someone had left below.
Josh said: “You put up a lovely Instagram. Someone put like, ‘Did anyone find that everyone was just too happy on it?’ It’s Strictly!”
Rob responded: “They said ‘It felt it was a bit too OTT and everyone was too happy like they were being paid to dance’. I’m like, ‘That’s exactly what’s happened’. I thought it was brilliant Josh you should be really proud.”
As well as people on Instagram commenting on how Josh, Emma, and Johannes did on Saturday, so too have former judges.
Speaking to the Mirror, Strictly legend Vincent Simone who described Josh as a “lost lamb” before suggesting it may have just been the nerves of the first show.
However, he added that he felt the nerves may have been felt by Emma too, he added: “Emma, professional as always. But I’m sure she was probably as nervous as everybody else. There’s a huge amount of pressure on their shoulders to hold a show together which is essentially new but old.”
Josh has also commented on the nerves around the programme. In an appearance alongside Emma and Johannes on The One Show he went into more detail about his feelings.
He said: “It’s nerve-wracking because it feels like we’ve been waiting for so long to do this. I’ve been living in a ball of fear. But since we did the launch show, I’ve just wanted people to see it because we loved it and had the best time.”
Emma has also shared the concerns she had over the first programme, but admitted she was braced for the comparisons.
She said: “I’m ready for the comparisons. I am ready for the negative opinions that can come with these things. Those things I don’t engage with or read, and there are always positives as well.”
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