TESS DALY AND CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN REPLACEMENT 'SEALED' AS STAR DROPS BIGGEST HINT YET

One BBC presenter has revealed she would "love" to host Strictly Come Dancing following the exits of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. In October, Tess and Claudia announced they would be stepping down from the BBC show when the 2022 series came to an end. Speculation has been rife about who will replace them ever since they made the announcement, with Zoe Ball and Rylan Clark amongst frontrunners.

Zoe, 55, is no stranger to Strictly, having competed as a contestant during the third series back in 2005 and presented the spin-off programme It Takes Two from 2011 to 2020. She even stepped in to front the main programme in 2014 to cover for Claudia. Rumours have been circulating that Zoe might become one of the show's main presenters, partly fuelled by her long-standing connection with the popular BBC programme.

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Following her recent decision to leave her Saturday BBC Radio 2 programme, fans have pointed out that her weekends are now available to take on the television show.

Speaking to The Sunday Times Style Magazine about potentially taking on the role, she said: "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."

Yet, she also cautioned: "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.'"

Zoe's remarks follow comments from her father, broadcaster Johnny Ball, who believes his daughter would be ideally suited for the position. He even went so far as to claim she did a better job than Claudia when she took over presenting duties on It Takes Two, reports the Mirror.

He exclusively told Express.co.uk: "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."

He continued: "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."

Tess and Claudia presented Strictly Come Dancing together since 2014. Tess had hosted the show since its launch in 2004, originally alongside Bruce Forsyth, while Claudia became a presenter on the main show in 2014 after his departure.

The BBC duo confirmed they were always going to leave together, sharing that the end of the 2025 series "felt like the right time".

2026-01-18T19:49:39Z