Strictly’s Janette Manrara and Kai Widdrington weigh in on presenters

DAILYMAIL.COM • 54m ago

By LAURA FOX, ASSOCIATE SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR and OLIVIA KEMP, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER 23:04 19 Oct 2026, updated 00:12 20 Oct 2026

Strictly pros Janette Manrara and Kai Widdrington have both weighed in on the show’s divisive new presenters.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail at Monday night’s star-studded Pride of Britain Awards, the pair shared their thoughts on the trio of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe.

While seasoned pro Emma, 50, has been praised for holding things together during the live shows, Josh, 43, has been branded a ‘spare part’ by viewers.

However, former pro and It Takes Two host Janette, 42, has now shared her positive thoughts on the new line-up.

She said on the red carpet: ‘I feel like there has been so much talk about them and it is the biggest show on telly. Everyone is watching. Everyone is going to have an opinion because the two that were there before were just there for so long.

‘So I’m so proud of them for doing what they’re doing and coming out on Saturday and doing their absolute best to make it to the best show on TV’s doing a good job.’

Kai, 31, then added of his close pal Johannes: ‘Jojo’s one of my best friends, so you know, naturally I’m flying his flag anywhere he goes, whether it’s Strictly, whether it’s Kinky Boots, whatever he’s doing, but I honestly think he’s just done such an amazing job, all three of them.

‘They’ve really made the celebs feel very much at home and it’s not the easiest thing to do when it’s your first year as well, so I think they’re brilliant.’

Of some of the negativity aimed at the new presenting trio he quipped: ‘I genuinely don’t have time to look at that sort of stuff. People have their opinions and I’m just there every week enjoying myself.’

Ever since Strictly returned, Emma, Johannes and Josh have been heavily scrutinised after taking on the roles from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

Despite the furore surrounding Josh’s signing, fans are slowly warming up to his presenting style.

But Strictly fans have been left frustrated as producers failed to mix up the trio presenting format for the second and third shows following criticism.

Instead of taking heed of fan comments, show bosses instead ploughed ahead with the original plan, leaving Josh and Emma presenting on the floor while Johannes was up in the ‘Clauditorium’.

Taking to X, viewers called out show bosses for ‘ignoring the public’ as they questioned why they hadn’t ‘listened’ to fan concerns.

They penned: ‘So they ignored the public and kept Josh downstairs doing his work experience, will Jojo talk while they walk up the stairs?’

‘They’ve not changed the presenting situation then’

‘Josh is downstairs. They haven’t listened.’

‘When we said Josh felt like a spare part downstairs, we didn’t mean we wanted him to do more and Emma less.’

‘I don’t understand why they’re not varying the presenting. Why is Johannes in the Clauditorium again? I’d have thought they would have swapped over and had Josh Widdicombe there this week after presenting on the floor last week.’

‘I really wish they had put JoJo and Josh together upstairs.’

‘Really surprised they haven’t switched and tried Josh in the upstairs role after the feedback from last week.’

However, on a positive note for the new hosts, former pro Johannes was widely praised by fans for vastly improving on his presenting skills in week two.

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