Rumours are swirling about who will become the new host of Strictly Come Dancing – and Zoe Ball, one of the frontrunners for the job, has said she would “love” to do it.
Former Radio 2 star Ball has reportedly been in the running ever since the BBC dancing competition’s long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced they would leave the series in October 2025.
Daly, who has hosted the show since it first aired 21 years ago, made her final appearance alongside Traitors star Winkleman on the Strictly Christmas special. However tough the task, producers will be hoping to recapture their dynamic styles, with Daly’s sleek professionalism in the main studio and Winkleman’s mastery of controlled chaos in the “Clauditorium”.
Ball has now addressed rumours she’ll be taking over, telling The Sunday Times in a new interview: “Obviously, there’s a part of me that would love to do it. But I will still be watching, whoever hosts.”
The broadcaster, who claims she has had no conversations about the role, named Alan Carr, Amanda Holden and Rylan as presenters she thinks would do a good job, but also threw another star in the ring – her former Radio 2 colleague Vernon Kay.
In December 2025, Ball’s father Johnny Ball said she was in the running to host with a new presenting partner, but claimed no decision would be made until the spring.
“People are coming to her, but it’s too early to say,” he said. “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.”
Zoe Ball, who competed on Strictly in 2005, hosted the spin-off programme from 2011 and held the role for 10 years.
Ball previously fuelled speculation she could present Strictly after announcing she was stepping down from her Radio 2 Saturday afternoon slot.
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The presenter quit hosting the station’s coveted breakfast show after her mother’s death in 2024 so she could focus on family, but she returned to present a weekend show on the radio station.
Other famous faces rumoured to be in the running include former Take Me Out presenter Paddy McGuinness, Strictly 2018 winner Stacey Dooley and the current It Takes Two hosts Fleur East and Janette Manrara.
While Daly and Winkleman hosted the pre-recorded Strictly festive special, the 2025 series’s grand final marked their final time in the ballroom as it was recorded live one week before Christmas.
The pair were given a suitably emotional send-off as Anton du Beke reduced Daly to tears with a touching tribute to her time on the show, before the annual montage of fans sharing their favourite moments segued into a celebration of the presenters.