Strictly host Josh Widdicombe 'feeling the scrutiny' after new role leaves him 'self-conscious and awkward'
Could nerves be getting the best of him?Strictly Come Dancing star Josh Widdicombe has faced a fair share of backlash since taking over the role of host.
He joined the 2026 series alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe as replacements for Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Josh, in particular, has faced harsh criticism since making his hosting debut but has since spoken out about how much he’s been enjoying being part of the iconic BBC show.
However, in a new update, body language expert Dr Beth Dawson, who has teamed up with Mecca Bingo, has revealed exclusively to TV Guide how the scrutiny might be affecting his role.
Strictly host Josh Widdicombe is ‘increasingly self-conscious’
“There is a difference between being confident as a comedian and being confident as a presenter. In stand-up, Josh controls the timing, the material and the interaction. On Strictly, he’s operating within a much more complex communication environment involving autocues, producers, contestants, judges, co-presenters and live timings,” Beth tells TV Guide.
“I think the biggest danger for Josh now isn’t necessarily the criticism itself, but that the criticism makes him increasingly self-conscious.”
She insisted that “we can start monitoring everything we do” when “we know we’re being scrutinised”.
Beth’s advice to Josh would be to “stop trying to show that he belongs there”, insisting he “doesn’t need to fill every silence or respond to every comment”.
In parts of the show, she noticed Josh looked “self-conscious and awkward”.
Beth explained: “We can see that by how he’s holding his body and his breath! If we look closely, we can see that he is keeping very still, shoulders slightly hunched and holding his breath very slightly, when Emma speaks, for example. This tells me he’s nervous.”
Josh offered a piece of advice
Beth noted that viewers at home aren’t just getting used to Josh as a host, but a “completely different presenting dynamic after years of Tess and Claudia”.
“Some of the awkwardness people are picking up on may be about the new format, rather than Josh himself,” she said.
If she were to give the 43-year-old one piece of advice, she said it would be not to “try to take up more space”.
“Be comfortable enough to leave space for other people. That’s often what real confidence looks like,” she said.
Read more: Strictly fans widely divided as Ellie Taylor makes It Takes Two debut
