Strictly Turns Josh Widdicombe Criticism Into On-Air Comedy

Strictly Come Dancing made its hosting chatter part of the entertainment on Saturday, with Josh Widdicombe delivering a pair of jokes that appeared to nod to criticism of his early stumbles. The move gave week five a small but telling subplot: the new presenting team is starting to make its reception part of the show’s own comedy.

All 12 contestants still in the competition were performing for a place in Halloween Week. Widdicombe opened the broadcast alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe, the trio who took over this autumn from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. That handover has brought a different rhythm to the links around the dances, and Saturday’s jokes showed the hosts leaning into it.

The first came before dog trainer Graeme Hall’s performance with professional partner Lauren Oakley. Willis introduced Hall as the “Dogfather” and said the pair would take on an undercover spy storyline. Widdicombe seized on the premise: “I’ve always had this funny feeling about Graeme. It’s all these different characters every week. It’s suspicious.”

Willis brushed off his theory as paranoia. Then, as the camera moved on, Widdicombe silently acted as though he had been hit in the backside by a red-feathered dart and dropped out of view. The audience laughed. The gag played as a quick visual payoff to his suspicion, while also giving the comedian a chance to make a joke at his own expense.

A second moment made the reference to Widdicombe’s on-air mistakes more direct. Before Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola’s tango, he read an autocue line saying that Turner had suggested taking “a bath together” to find calm before the performance. Willis stopped him and asked him to read it again. Widdicombe corrected the line to “a sound bath together,” then apologised.

The pause was staged: this time, the apparent autocue slip was intentional. That distinction mattered to the joke. Widdicombe was recreating the sort of stumble that had drawn notice earlier in the series, but turning it into a knowingly silly moment rather than letting the mistake sit as an awkward interruption.

The trio have had a mixed reception since their debut about a month ago. Widdicombe has drawn much of the criticism, with viewers reacting to early line fluffs and moments when he spoke over Willis. The show has asked the hosts to bring humour to the stretches before and after the performances, but that approach has not landed consistently with audiences or critics.

Saturday’s material suggests the team can use that uneven reception as raw material. It doesn’t settle the question of how viewers will respond to Widdicombe over a full series, but it gives him a way to acknowledge the criticism without pausing the programme for a serious defence. The jokes also depend on Willis’s timing: she provides the cue, then lets the gag turn on Widdicombe’s reaction.

Radebe has a different job in the revamped format. He has taken over the mezzanine area now called the Clauditorium, where he speaks with contestants after their dances and brings his ballroom knowledge into the commentary. The setup gives the hosts distinct roles, with Widdicombe and Willis handling much of the studio banter while Radebe focuses on the performers just off the dance floor.

Viewer responses on social media appear to have warmed as the series has progressed, and Widdicombe seems more at ease in the role. Saturday’s self-directed jokes fit that shift: he was willing to put the criticism into the script and trust the audience to recognise the reference. The measure from here will be whether that ease holds through the remaining live shows, as the dances and the competition for a Halloween Week place keep the focus on the contestants.

Strictly Come Dancing returns for the results show on Sunday evening at 7.10pm on BBC One and iPlayer.