The BBC Radio 2 star is among those rumoured to be taking over Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on BBC’s Strictly

Zoe Ball has teased that she has a ‘glamourous’ new job as rumours continue to swirl that she could be one of the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing.

As fans of the BBC One dance contest know, there was widespread shock back in October when Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced their plans to leave after 14 years at the helm together, with Tess hosting the show from the beginning in 2004, then with Sir Bruce Forsyth.

They said in a joint statement at the time: “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.

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“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’re the most brilliant team and we’ll 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.”

It was then in December they were seen hosting Strictly live for the last time as the 2025 series drew to an emotional close. Their last show, which saw Karen Carney and Carlos Gu crowned Strictly 2025 champions, saw them welcomed with a standing ovation from the studio audience, before the show featured a number of tributes to the presenters, including from the Queen, as well as fans of the show.

While who will replace them is yet to be confirmed, many names have been put forward including BBC Radio 2 stars Zoe and Rylan Clark, who both previously hosted Strictly’s spin-off show, It Takes Two, as well as the likes of Alison Hammond, Bradley Walsh, Emma Willis and Amanda Holden.

While she previously said she would “love to do it”, Zoe also made a point that whoever took over the role would have big shoes to fill. But now, the broadcaster has been quizzed by her radio pal Jo Whiley on their podcast, Dig It, after she revealed she was preparing for a “glamorous” job, though couldn’t share further details.

When asked by Jo what plans she had coming up, Zoe replied: “Absolutely nothing going on my end, nothing going on my end at all,” before acknowledging that her quick downplay of what she has ahead sounded rather suspicious.

“Well I may or may not believe you,” Jo laughed before Zoe then shared: “Hopefully afterwards, I’ll be able to tell you about it all, but obviously at the moment I can’t say anything about it.”

Jo also pointed out Zoe’s new hair do, to which the TV and radio star revealed she had her roots done and added some extensions. “I need to be glamorous for something,” she teased. Jo continued to press, with Zoe replied: “Just, you know, doing the garden. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror – just for going down the shops.” Appearing to note the rumours, Jo then quipped: “Strictly gardening,” before Zoe changed the subject.

It comes after Janette Manrara said she will “wait and find out” about a potential new presenting role on Strictly Come Dancing as she remains among the names rumoured to take over the huge hosting gig.

The dancer and presenter, who was previously a professional dancer on the BBC show and hosts the BBC One programme’s spin-off, It Takes Two, has been rumoured as one of the potential successors to Claudia and Tess. During an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday (April 15), Janette was asked whether she will be in a new presenting role for this year’s series.

She said: “I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and find out. I think everyone at the moment is a bit on standby, so we’ll see what happens.” Janette also said she is “assuming we’ll have a couple of new professionals and a couple of new presenters” for the 2026 series, after dancers Michelle Tsiakkas, Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova and Luba Mushtuk announced they are leaving the show.