However, the Love Is Blind host has admitted that she previously came close to being part of the Strictly family years before she was appointed as its new host.
Speaking to members of the press, including HuffPost UK, ahead of the new season, Emma admitted that taking part in Strictly as a contestant had been “on my mind for about seven years” before signing to present it.
“Every year, I go, ‘I really want to do it’. And it’s never worked out,” Emma said.
The former Big Brother presenter then recalled: “A few years ago, I actually went and had a ‘dance day’, where you kind of go and feel it, and see if you want to give it a go. Is that what they call it? A dance trial.”
“So, about three or four years ago, I was like, ‘oh, I’ll do a dance trial’. And I walked into the room and he was my partner,” she said, gesturing to her new co-host Johannes Radebe.
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As the pair’s co-presenter Josh Widdicombe ribbed them about which one of them led to the partnership never making it onto the screen, Emma insisted: “ It just didn’t work out diary-wise. I was absolutely gutted, because I always said if ever I danced, I’d really want it to be with Jojo. But now, I get to dance with him in a different way.”
This year, Emma will have an opportunity to strut her stuff on the Strictly dance floor as part of this year’s launch show.
Elsewhere in the interview, Johannes teased that there’ll “definitely be more dancing in this launch show than there ever was in Strictly Come Dancing”, with Emma conceding that she was “terrified” to be a “tiny part” of the opening routine involving “everybody that’s taking part”.
“Me and Josh have got to go and dance,” she shared. “We’ve got to go and learn it next week, haven’t we? Oh god…”
Strictly Come Dancing returns to our screens on Saturday 19 September.
