Emma Willis ‘ready for the comparisons’ after taking over as Strictly host

Emma Willis has said she is “ready for the comparisons” when she takes over as one of the Strictly Come Dancing hosts.The TV presenter, 50, has fronted other shows including Big Brother, The Voice, The Circle and Love Is Blind.Emma Willis has said she is ‘ready for the comparisons’ to Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman (Martin Rickett/PA)PA ArchiveThe three incoming hosts have spoken about the pressure of taking over from Daly and Winkleman and how they feel about the comparisons.Speaking to the Press Association and other outlets, Willis said: “I’m ready for the comparisons. I am ready for the negative opinions that can come with these things, but on the flip side, there are always positives as well.“But at the end of the day, I feel like it’s really simple, right? We work in this industry, and we’ve been given the opportunity to work on a phenomenal show that is really well loved by the public and also by ourselves.“We aren’t reinventing the wheel, and we’re not rocket scientists. We are working on an entertainment show about dancing that is meant to hopefully bring joy to everybody watching it. So hopefully we can be a small part of that joy and have a really lovely time doing it.”She added: “There’s obviously a kind of fear that comes with it because of the enormity of it, and you have nerves about being good enough to kind of do the job and step into the role.”Widdicombe said that while they would not “reinvent the show”, they would “be ourselves and our personalities will be there”.Asked if they had spoken to the last hosts – who said it “felt like the right time” when announcing their exit last year – Radebe said Daly and Winkleman had offered them words of advice.“They reached out and wished us well for the season ahead and reminded us just to enjoy it,” he said.“It felt like we got approval from older sisters.”Widdicombe also said it felt “surreal” to be taking over but called the pressure “exciting”.“It shows we really care and are thrilled to get the opportunity,” he added.Daly, 56, presented the series with Sir Bruce Forsyth when it launched in 2004, and Winkleman, 54, fronted its weekday companion show, It Takes Two.Daly and Winkleman said it ‘felt like the right time’ to step down (Ian West/PA)PA ArchiveWinkleman eventually moved on to host the Sunday night results show alongside Daly, and joined the main show every Saturday from 2014 after Sir Bruce stepped down.Read MoreStrictly will return on Sunday September 19 to BBC One and iPlayer.The celebrity contestants this season include former Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen, actress Melanie Walters, former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Australian singer Delta Goodrem.They will be joined by actress Lacey Turner, celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton, Love Island winner Cach Mercer, presenter Will Best, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, actress Jaime Winstone, actress Bethany Antonia, dog trainer and presenter Graeme “The Dogfather” Hall, Emmerdale’s Lawrence Robb, Olympian Tabby Stoecker and sports content creator John Nellis.The BBC has confirmed five new professional dancers are joining the show this year: Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita.