'He wanted the money, but it hasn't paid off': Is 'wooden' host Josh Widdicombe scrambling to get out of Strictly? Rumours swirl behind the scenes - just as judge Anton Du Beke curiously reveals one 'celeb' is looking for an early exit

After more than two decades in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom, Anton Du Beke knows a thing or two about keeping a smile in place when the going gets difficult.

As a dancer, he had ample practice wrangling challenging celebrity partners and as a judge, he has become one of the reassuringly familiar faces of a programme undergoing rather more change than some viewers would like.

But this week, even Anton could offer little reassurance about one colleague’s future.

‘I spoke to somebody the other day and they were like, “It’s getting a bit much”,’ he said, during an event to promote his new memoir.

‘It’s somebody who’s been on it not that long, a little while, and I understood that. I thought about it for a while and I wondered if they will be on it, or whether they will decide to step away or carry on.’

It was a tantalising admission from a man who has been on the show since its first tentative steps in 2004.

At 60, Anton has seen partnerships flourish, favourites depart and successive generations discover the pleasures of a Strictly Saturday night.

But while he was careful not to name the colleague, there has been behind-the-scenes speculation that it is Josh Widdicombe seeking an exit.

Certainly, industry insiders say neither Josh nor BBC bosses are thrilled with how his move to Saturday-night television has unfolded.

‘The bosses and Josh just aren’t happy,’ one source said. ‘Some in his camp are scrambling to get him out.

‘It’s difficult to feel entirely sorry for him, though. It was a bad career move. He wanted the money, but it hasn’t paid off. There have been murmurs he could either go before the final or leave at the end.’

The BBC denied Anton had been referencing Josh and his representative vehemently denied any plans to leave, but all three new co-hosts – Josh, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe – were hired on one-year contracts, so none has a guaranteed place next year. Should Josh depart after the final, he would simply have completed the series he signed up for.

But while that might make any departure easier to manage, it would do little to spare the BBC’s blushes.

After all, the new trio were chosen to lead Britain’s biggest Saturday-night entertainment show into its next era. Losing one so soon would be a bruising verdict on an overhaul unveiled with such confidence.

There have already been signs of how tiring Josh has found the workload. Speaking on his Parenting Hell podcast in September after filming the programme’s launch – at this point live shows hadn’t even started – the 43-year-old said he could not remember ever feeling ‘so tired’ in his life.

‘I still don’t feel like I’m fully recovered,’ he said.

He insisted that the problem was fatigue rather than anxiety – ‘I’m not stressed, I’m tired’ – but acknowledged that the months ahead would be demanding.

‘I think my autumn is going to be more full-on than I anticipated,’ he added. His reaction couldn’t have contrasted more with the optimism surrounding the hiring of the new trio, when they were first brought together in an audition room and the show’s top bosses believed they had found ‘the future’.

Emma, 50, had been presenting major shows for years, Josh was a popular comedian with a successful career in television and podcasting, while Johannes, 39, a professional dancer, was already one of the most well-liked members of the Strictly family. ‘When Emma, Josh and Johannes entered that room, they were seen to be the dream,’ said one BBC source. ‘Those at the BBC who didn’t see them were shocked and didn’t believe it could work. That view stands, it doesn’t work.

‘Not only have many traditional viewers stopped watching, the show has become the butt of jokes, a laughing stock.’

The criticism has not fallen equally on all three. One insider described Emma, a seasoned live broadcaster who also presents ITV’s The Voice, as a ‘top pro’.

Josh, meanwhile, drew criticism from viewers after ‘fluffing’ lines during the opening shows, with some accusing him of appearing ‘wooden’. ‘Emma is a very experienced presenter but Josh looks like he’s hanging around her like an uncool boy at school and she doesn’t want him near her,’ said one BBC source. ‘That might be funny in other shows, but this is Strictly, the biggest show on Saturday night television.

‘There were so many brilliant presenters to choose from – Zoe Ball and Rylan Clark, for example – but they went for this lot.’

Another insider was blunter still. ‘It isn’t working,’ they said. ‘Strictly isn’t really for Josh. He probably knows that.’

But Josh Widdicombe’s agents insisted last night: ‘There is zero truth to any of this – Josh is having the time of his life and his agent is incredibly proud of him.’ While a BBC spokesman said: ‘Anton wasn’t talking about Josh, Josh is loving Strictly and we’re loving Josh!’

The new team’s faltering start has inevitably invited comparisons with former presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who made a demanding job appear effortless.

Tess, 57, presented Strictly from its launch in 2004 and was a steady presence on the ballroom floor, while 54-year-old Claudia’s dry wit enlivened the interviews upstairs.

After so many years together, the pair could fill an unexpected gap, hurry the celebrities along or recover from a missed cue without drawing attention to anything that had gone wrong.

‘Only in their absence has the value of that partnership become fully apparent,’ one source added.

Nor has discontent with the new team been confined to Josh.

Johannes, who moved into presenting after years as one of Strictly’s professional dancers, has also faced criticism after muddling timings and speaking at the wrong moments during the opening weeks. There may, however, be another role for him on the programme – on the judging panel.

For executives have more to consider than the fate of its presenters. Ratings have fallen by about 1.5million this year and the contracts of all four judges – Shirley Ballas, 66, Craig Revel Horwood, 61, Motsi Mabuse, 45, and Anton – are due to expire at the end of the series.

‘The one thing that the BBC knew would keep some continuity this year was that the judges would all be back,’ one source said. ‘But anything could happen. Any of them could walk away now and they will be free agents.’

Head judge Shirley has reasons of her own to consider what comes next. She has completed a decade on the programme and is thought to be considering spending more time in America, where her son Mark – a professional dancer on Dancing With The Stars – is based with his family. She made her debut as a guest judge on the US show for the Halloween special last month.

Any negotiations may also revive the row over judges’ salaries, which are thought to be between £200,000 and £300,000 for a three-and-a-half-month series. In 2023, the four judges sought an 11 per cent pay rise, angering BBC bosses who refused their demand.

They ultimately received increases of between 3 and 5 per cent, but insiders say the fall in ratings makes another substantial rise even less likely.

For years Strictly has survived scandals, departing stars and repeated predictions of decline because the programme itself remained reassuringly familiar.

Whatever happened away from the ballroom, viewers knew Tess and Claudia would be there on Saturday night, telling us to ‘keep dancing’. Now there is a presenting trio who still show few signs of growing into their roles, with Josh in particular described behind the scenes as a ‘fish out of water’.

The BBC hoped its new trio would secure the show’s future, but six weeks into the job, it’s not at all clear that the current presenters are the solution.