Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe have made their debut as the new hosting team on Strictly Come Dancing – but the revamped line-up failed to deliver the ratings boost BBC bosses had hoped for, while fans questioned the ‘awkward’ three-presenter format.
On Saturday, the pre-recorded launch show peaked at 5.8 million viewers, according to overnight figures, up slightly on last year’s peak of 5.6 million.
However, the episode averaged at 5.3 million viewers, down from 5.4 million in 2025.
While the peak figure represents a small rise on last year, it remains well below the figures recorded before the programme was
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