Strictly Come Dancing 2026 tipped to be considering adding third host to presenting line-up - as rumoured list of frontrunners revealed

There continues to be rumblings from the world of Strictly Come Dancing as fans of the show wait to see just who will be announced as the show's hosts, taking over from Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, who announced their exit from the show back in October last year.

Well, it's now been suggested that the format of presenters could be shaken up even further, as The Sun reports that there is the possibility of a third host being considered for the show in order to "freshen up" the series.

A source told the publication: “It’s likely a decision on whether it’s two hosts or three, and who will get the roles, won’t be decided until summer. The BBC are making a lot of changes to the pro dancer line-up and now that is out of the way, they can get to work on who is the best fit.”

When approached by Radio Times for comment on the matter, a BBC spokesperson responded with a statement: "Plans for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course."

So, while nothing concrete can be confirmed for now, it very well could be a possibility that a third host could be joining the Strictly ranks.

The main show has never had three presenters at one time, with Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly being the original presenters of the show and then Winkleman coming in to co-host alongside Daly from the eighth series.

As for who will be in the presenting line-up, that remains to be seen.

Currently, it's been reported that options have been whittled down to seven potential hosts, with The One Show's Alex Jones currently tipped to be the BBC's favourite.

Just a couple of weeks ago, it was reported that BBC Radio 2 DJ Sara Cox had been eyed as a replacement, with it previously also having been reported that The Great British Bake Off's Mel Giedroyc could also be helming Strictly.

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The rumoured list of frontrunners includes plenty of familiar faces who have mostly had some contact with Strictly previously. They include the likes of Strictly season 3 contestant and It Takes Two presenter Zoe Ball, Ball's successor on that show, Rylan Clark, Emma Willis, Strictly season 12 contestant Alison Hammond, Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two host Fleur East, and 2023 Strictly contestant Angela Scanlon.

As of now, it seems as though Strictly is really undergoing quite the transformative period, as it was more recently reported that professional dancers Gorka Márquez, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas had all been dropped from the upcoming season, with producers said to want a "fresh start". It was later reported that Nadiya Bychkova had also been dropped from the show, as well as long-running professional dancer Karen Hauer.

Nothing has yet been confirmed by the BBC, nor by the representatives of the dancers themselves, when approached by Radio Times.

However, with the professional dancing line-up usually announced in early April, we can assume it's only a matter of time before we know more about the dancers and the potential hosts of the new series.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer later this year.

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