Zoe Ball 'in the mix' for Strictly hosting job with decision made 'after Easter'

Dad Johnny said 'she took over from Claudia on It Takes Two, and did a better job'
Nancy Brown

Zoe Ball is in the running to become the new host of Strictly Come Dancing, her TV legend Johnny Ball has revealed.

He spoke out after Zoe quit her BBC Radio 2 show, and hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman waved goodbye to the series at this weekend’s live final.

However, according to Johnny, we might have a while to wait before we find out who will replace the pair…

Zoe Ball on It Takes Two
Zoe hosted It Takes Two for 10 years (Credit: BBC)

Johnny Ball reveals daughter Zoe is ‘in the mix’ for Strictly

The 87-year-old TV legend said: “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.”

Johnny added that he believed Zoe, 55, would be a stronger presenter than Claudia, 53.

Zoe hosted the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off between 2011 and 2021, after Claudia was promoted to the main show.

He continued to The Express: “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.”

Ouch!

His comments come after Zoe quit her BBC Radio 2 programme. Her show will now be hosted by Emma Willis.

With her final show airing over the weekend, Zoe told listeners: “I have loved being betwixt my dear friends Romesh [Ranganathan] and Rylan [Clark], and you know, I love you all to bits, but I’m not disappearing completely.”

Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly
Tess and Claudia have stepped down after more than a decade at the helm (Credit: BBC)

Who else is in the running for the Strictly role?

Zoe is just one of many names being touted for the job.

Bradley Walsh recently teased whether rumours he was taking a chemistry test for the job were true.

Speaking on BBC Radio 2, The Chase host said that presenting Strictly would “ruin the weekend”. However, he did tease that he’d been practising the show’s “keep dancing” catchphrase.

However, there are a glut of other names being considered for the Strictly hosting role.

Bradley Walsh on The Chase
Bradley also spoke out about hosting rumours (Credit: ITV)

Holly Willoughby, Alex Jones, Anton Du Beke and Rylan Clark are just a few of the other top contenders.

Speaking on This Morning last week, Anton tried to swerve Dermot O’Leary’s direct questions over whether he would replace Tess Daly as host of the show. “Well,” he said, giggling.

“Next step do you think?” he teased.

Bookies are onboard, with Anton currently at 4/1 to take over hosting duties next year.

Read more: Nancy Xu fuels Carlos Gu ‘feud’ rumours with her behaviour at series finale