strictly vs bake off viewership turned into a ratings test a month ago, when Strictly Come Dancing launched its latest series with a new three-presenter setup and the audience response split quickly. Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe took over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, and the show’s opening month brought a dip rather than a clean handover.
Changing the ’s flagship Saturday night entertainment show from two presenters to three was never going to keep the old rhythm intact. Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe were paired on the live shows, while Johannes Radebe moved upstairs on the mezzanine to handle the post-dance interviews with warmth and dance expertise.
September reviews on Widdicombe
After the hosts made their debuts in September, Carol Midgley billed them as "TV's most awkward ménage à trois" and Chris Bennion called Strictly’s "new 'throuple' is an utter disaster". Bennion also said, "It's a mess, a muddle, a confusing pudding." Those reviews captured the split immediately: some critics saw a format in trouble, while others judged the same debut as a clean success.
Adam Miller called the debut "a triumph", and Sarah Carson said Strictly had "played a blinder" even as she added the three "looked a little awkward as a three at times". That kind of split reception is rarely harmless on a live entertainment show, because the presenting rhythm is part of the product, not a decorative extra.
Sasha Morris on Josh Widdicombe
Sasha Morris said Widdicombe "felt like an awkward spare part" and looked like "the work experience boy". Widdicombe was there to inject humour into the moments before and after each dance, but he drew the sharpest criticism of the trio and became the presenter critics singled out most often.
Isobel Lewis said Widdicombe "is a problem the show needs to solve" before adding, "He's basically acting too much like a comedian to be a presenter". She also said, "I think he's getting more comfortable with it," and that the bits when Widdicombe and Emma Willis intro each act "feel way more confident there, and it feels more like it works."
Latest series ratings dip
Ratings have dipped since the latest series began, so the question for Strictly Come Dancing is not whether the format has changed, but whether the team can make three presenters feel natural fast enough to steady the audience. The early reviews suggest the answer depends less on the title card than on whether Widdicombe stops looking like an add-on and starts sounding like part of the machine.
For now, the mixed verdict has hardened into a simple business problem: the new line-up has put pressure on the show’s timing, and the ratings have already felt it. If the trio settles, the dip can be repaired; if not, the opening month may be remembered as the moment Strictly Come Dancing lost some of its Saturday-night ease.
