Strictly’s Emma Willis says having three new presenters was ‘wild card’ decision

Emma Willis has said having three presenters for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing was a “wild card” decision by the producers, who did not even have a script for it.The TV star will host the new series alongside comedian Josh Widdecombe and former professional dancer Johannes Radebe.Willis, Widdecombe and Radebe did chemistry tests with multiple people and the three of them were brought together as a suggestion by the producers.Willis described the casting process as the most “cloak and dagger thing” she had ever seen (Jordan Pettitt/PA)PA ArchiveSpeaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Willis said the three of them were brought in together and told: “This is the last one and this is a wild card.“We’re just like, ‘What happens if we do three?’“And they said, ‘It’s so much of a wild card, we don’t really have a script for you either.“‘So we’re going to sit down, get it up on the screen and we’ll have a little tinker all together.’”She also said the three presenters do not have “fixed roles” yet and “no one’s replacing anybody”.She added: “At the minute it’s all very kind of open.“We’re having lots of production days where we go in and we play around and we’re kind of feeling each other out – well, they’re feeling us out really.”Willis also described the hiring process as “the most cloak and dagger thing” she has ever seen.She said: “The whole process was maybe four months long.“Then they started doing the chemistry tests and they were the most cloak and dagger thing I have ever been a part of.“It’s been a long time since I’ve even seen, heard or been in a chemistry test and it was terrifying, but so brilliant.”The three new presenters were told to say they were trying out for a show called The Great Garden Glow Up (Lucy North/PA)PA WireThe casting process was so secretive that Widdecombe said he was told if the taxi driver on the way to the chemistry test asked him what show he was trying out for, he had to say it was The Great Garden Glow Up.Willis said the audition process involved presenting a “fake” episode of the show with crew members acting as judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.She added: “Then you went and sat in a room, terrified, even though it’s not real, and then you wait for the person to walk in and you don’t know who it’s going to be until you see them.”Read MoreCelebrity contestants confirmed for the new series include former Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen, actress Melanie Walters, former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Australian singer Delta Goodrem.Judges Shirley Ballas, Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke will also return for the new series.Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 7.25pm on Saturday September 19 and will air every weekend until Christmas.