The BBC has been warned of a crisis ahead for its Saturday night TV plans, as Strictly Come Dancing prepares for a difficult reboot.
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly‘s surprise departure was means the show will face huge scrutiny in the future and risked losing fans, TV insiders said.
There is also uncertainty over the future of Doctor Who following poor ratings, with doubt over whether it will return to BBC One’s Saturday night schedules.
The huge success of The Traitors showed the BBC had to take greater risks on new formats, rather than “chasing nostalgia” for its primetime family viewing, TV commentators said.
There was speculation that BBC bosses could decide on a hiatus for Strictly to refresh the format and build interest for its eventual return in 2027 or beyond.
However, The i Paper understands that Strictly will return in autumn 2026. The corporation still regards the show a ratings phenomenon and has no plans for a break.
No decisions on hosts to replace Winkleman and Daly have been made yet. But some big name presenters have already put themselves forward, according to a BBC source.
Presenters are putting themselves forward to replace Winkleman and Daly (Photo: BBC Studios)Star names could be wary of following Winkleman
The TV critic Scott Bryan said a desperation for ratings – and lack of alternatives for the Saturday night slot – guaranteed an immediate return of Strictly with new hosts next year.
“I think it would be wild if there was any hiatus, because it would leave such a void in the BBC schedule,” he told The i Paper.
Although Strictly’s ratings have fallen from over eight million to under six million in recent years, Bryan said it was “still crucial”, adding: “It’s still a country mile ahead of any entertainment show for the BBC.”
However, he warned that the ongoing success of the show was not inevitable and replacing its star hosts was “not going to be easy”, warning: “Every show has its time.
“It has to work with new presenters right from the off, because there will be such scrutiny. You need immediate chemistry from a duo, and they need to get an immediate connection with the public.”
Professor Patrick Barwise of London Business School, the author of The War Against The BBC, said: “My hunch is that Strictly will survive, with audiences continuing to decline rather than completely falling off a cliff. It depends on how well the BBC manages to limit further backstage scandals and, especially, on the new presentation team.”
Prof Barwise added: “If I were the BBC, Mel and Sue would be top of my candidate list.”
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman accepting 2024 Bafta for Strictly (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty)But Peter Fincham, a former BBC One controller, said star names could be wary of following in Winkleman’s shoes.
“You could argue that finally, in The Traitors, the BBC has found an entertainment show that dominates the national conversation more than Strictly,” he told Insiders: The TV Podcast.
“If you were a presenter, would your agent be saying to you, ‘Should you join Strictly, is it going to be entering its twilight years now?’”
For some loyal Strictly fans, Winkleman’s exit could be a “deal breaker” and put them off the show, added PR specialist Kayley Cornelius.
Saturday night TV crisis ‘almost impossible to fix’
Fellow PR expert Mark Borkowski said the BBC faced the “slow death of Strictly” in the years ahead.
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“The BBC can plug new faces in, but audiences are savvier now – they smell transition fatigue.”
The rise of Netflix and other streaming giants has made it challenging for the BBC to create prime-time, appointment viewing on Saturday nights.
Steven D Wright, a former Channel 4 entertainment commissioner and producer, said the BBC needed new “compulsive, competitive formats” like The Traitors.
“But ultimately Saturday night TV is almost impossible to fix, because commissioners are extremely risk averse and won’t take risks on new ideas.”
Bryan said there were “lots of questions” about the future of Doctor Who after ratings fell below two million for the first time ever. He believes it “won’t be back until 2026, 2027 at least”.
But he said the BBC had proved, with the popularity of Strictly and The Gladiators, that it can still attract family audiences – something even streaming platforms have struggled with.
The BBC said in a statement that Winkleman and Daly’s last appearance will be on Strictly’s Christmas Day special, adding: “Plans for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course.”
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