Zoe Ball out of the running for Strictly Come Dancing presenting role

Tue, 12 May, 2026 - 12:25

By Laura Harding, Press Association Entertainment Editor

Zoe Ball has said she has been dealing with “grief and rejection” after she missed out on the hosting job for Strictly Come Dancing.

The TV presenter, who previously hosted Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, was previously thought to be among the front runners to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman in the ballroom.

However, she has now revealed did not get the job and has “worked through the seven stages of grief and rejection”.

Ball is the first presenter linked with the role to publicly confirm she had taken part in recent screen tests and is now out of the running.

Strictly Come Dancing 2024 — Claudia Winkleman (left) and Tess Daly have stepped down from presenting Strictly Come Dancing (Guy Levy/BBC)

Speaking on her Dig It podcast with Jo Whiley, she said: “I didn’t get it, but it’s OK.

“I have worked through the seven stages of grief and rejection over the last couple of days.

“No, I didn’t get it, but I tell you, what, if who I think has got it, we’re in safe hands and our new hosts are going to be fabulous.

“I’m so thrilled for them, and hopefully at a later date, we’ll be able to talk about them in more detail.”

She added: “I was so chuffed to even be in the mix. There were some pretty amazing people who didn’t even make it into the mix.

“So I made it in the mix, and I had a really fun time having one last little play at a show that I love and adore. And I’m so thrilled for the gang that has got it.”

Whiley described the Strictly audition process as a “massive, great, big elephant, mammoth in the room that we haven’t been talking about” and told Ball: “You should take comfort and solace, I think, from all the polls that people have been doing of the public, and the public are like, ‘We want Zoe’.

“You have been…the popular choice for this job. People really, really trusted you, and they love you, and they would be quite happy if you had been Strictly host.

“Of course, whoever does it will be great, and we will love them. But you had people’s hearts, and so that, I hope, is a comfort to you.”

Ball told her: “I think the new host will be so relieved when it’s out there, and then everyone can just talk about the show and who’s going to be the celebrities this year, and then they can sort of settle into that.

“I think there’s been so many eyes on this whole process, and it’s been quite a long process, so I think everyone’s quite relieved now that a decision has been made and the right decision has been made, and well done to the team for making it.”

She continued: “I just want to say thanks to the team for including me in the process in the first place. And what a relief for everybody that it is now done.”