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Emma Willis was warned 'don't do Strictly' by professional dancers

After seeing her dance moves, James Jordan cautioned Emma Willis that Strictly Come Dancing wasn't for her as she edges closed to being named one of the show's new hosts

[Emma Willis]

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Emma Willis may love Strictly, but she's not the greatest dancer!

Emma Willis was once cheekily warned to give Strictly Come Dancing the swerve by the show's professional dancers.

The popular presenter is said to have won the race for the coveted hosting role after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down from the show last year. The beeb are set to offer the opportunity to Emma after months of auditions, with Zoe Ball expected to take on the second role.

It's a sharp turn around for former Big Brother host Emma who was one advised against going anywhere near the beloved competition. During an edition of This Morning back in August, Emma and Joel Dommett took the helm whilst Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard enjoyed their summer holidays.

[Strictly legends James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Brendan Cole and Ian Waite were in the studio ]

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Strictly legends James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Brendan Cole and Ian Waite watched her in action in August (Image: ITV)

The presenting pair covered the day's headlines and chatted to various guests, including former Strictly professionals James, Brendan Cole, Pasha Kovalev, and Ian Waite.

Moments before launching into the interview, Emma was eager to express her enthusiasm for Strictly and wasted little time demonstrating her signature dance moves - and the response was cutting.

She declared: "I'm a bit of a sofa dancer." Everyone appeared puzzled as she enquired, "Have you ever heard of one of them? I love Strictly, and I'm a massive fan."

Showcasing her moves, Emma swayed from left to right on the sofa and added, "I sit there and watch it and do this on the sofa while watching them dance, and my toes are pointing."

[This Morning was hosted by Emma Willis and Joel Dommett]

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This episode of This Morning was hosted by Emma and Joel Dommett(Image: ITV)

She continued: " And before I know it, everyone is looking at me, thinking 'what are you doing?'"

Before she could complete her explanation, James, who featured as a professional on Strictly from 2006 to 2013, interjected with a quip: "If you do it like that, don't ever do Strictly."

Everyone erupted in laughter as Brendon teased, "I had a couple of partners like that."

Emma has made no secret she's a huge fan of the show and is said to have impressed bosses when they gave her the call up to audition.

A source said: "Emma has been offered the Strictly job and is going to accept. She absolutely nailed the chemistry tests and the BBC adore her. Emma is a household name and a safe pair of hands so the BBC know she will do the job justice.

"Shes incredibly popular with the public too and will suit the role down to a tee. She was absolutely thrilled to have been offered the job. Strictly is one of the biggest shows on television and to be trusted with the new era is something Emma feels incredibly proud and humbled by," the Sun report.

[emma willis ]

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She is set to be confirmed as the new host, it has been reported

Emma reportedly did a chemistry test with Zoe, as well as other pairings including Alex Jones and Rylan Clark and Bradley Walsh and Rob Rinder.

A spokesperson for the BBC told The Mirror: "Plans for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course."

Emma and Zoe are both big names within the BBC, with them both having radio shows with the broadcaster. Emma hosts her own Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 2.

Tess and Claudia announced back in September that they were quitting the show after the end of that series.

"We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show," they said.

"Theyre the most brilliant team and well miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last keep dancing but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza."

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