Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman confirmed in October that they would step down from presenting Strictly Come Dancing. Alison Hammond has been approached for the position, having previously competed on the show in 2014 and finishing tenth. Other high-profile names linked to the presenting role include Zoe Ball, Rylan Clark, Emma Willis, and Miranda Hart.
Amanda Holden has ruled herself out, stating she and Alan Carr declined to focus on other projects. Five professional dancers, including Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova, and Gorka Marquez, were dropped from Strictly Come Dancing last month. Sources claimed that Strictly bosses judge some professional dancers' following on TikTok when deciding which stars to axe.
Sources said that bosses have chosen to keep professional dancers with a bigger online following to draw in younger viewers. For example, Nadiya Bychkova, who was axed, has 19,000 followers on TikTok, while Dianne Buswell, who kept her place, has 966,000 followers. Similarly, Karen Hauer, who was axed, has 9,000 followers on TikTok, while safe newcomer Alexis has 190,000 followers.
It remains unclear who will replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as hosts, what specific criteria Strictly bosses are using to select professional dancers, how many younger viewers are expected to be drawn in, and what other factors, besides TikTok followings, influenced the decision to axe the five professional dancers.