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Alan Carr opened up about why he doesn’t want the Strictly Come Dancing host job – urging the BBC to ‘give it to someone else!’
Previous speculation suggested the comedian, 49, and pal Amanda Holden, 54, were being lined up as Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman‘s successors.
Speaking at a Q&A for his new Channel 4 show Secret Genius, Alan revealed why he isn’t interested in taking up the gig.
While acknowledging it would be ‘an honour’, he explained: ‘I just think I like watching the show, I don’t love it.
‘I think it would be better for someone who really, really loves it, you know.
‘And they asked me all the time to be on it and stuff.
Comedian Alan Carr has opened up about why he doesn’t want the Strictly Come Dancing hosting gig
Speculation arose that Alan and pal Amanda Holden could join Strictly together – but they later confirmed this won’t be the case
In October 2025, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who have hosted the show together since 2014, announced their joint exit
‘I just think, wouldn’t it be great to get someone fresh, someone new.
‘That show is so adored and so loved. You want someone in there who’s like, “Yeah, this Paso Doble was…”. I don’t give a s**t.
‘Give it to someone else, yeah.’
As for Secret Genius, the upcoming programme sees Alan and Countdown legend Susie Dent test contestants’ untapped brainpower with a series of logic puzzles set by Mensa.
It is set to debut on Sunday (February 1), with the first of multiple regional heats to be aired.
Speaking previously, Alan said about the show: ‘I have never ever been called a genius believe it or not, but I am fascinated by those people who do get labelled genius. Is it a gift, a curse, or a burden?
‘I am so excited about ’Secret Genius’, it’s going to be absolutely fascinating not only finding out what makes these people tick but also challenging stereotypes and prejudices along the way.’
Elsewhere, Alan and Amanda admitted they had ‘said no’ to the offer made by the BBC for them to take over as they appeared on Jessie and Lennie Ware’s podcast, Table Manners.
During the interview, the mother-and-daughter duo asked Alan and Amanda: ‘You two aren’t going to present Strictly together?’ to which the comedian responded: ‘No, we said no ages ago.’
Prior to that, Amanda addressed the speculation during her Heart Radio show in December 2025.
She told her listeners: ‘I want to say now that me and Alan are 100 per cent not doing Strictly.
‘We are so flattered to be in that mix. We both are not doing it.’
While there’s yet to be any official announcement for new hosts, fans have thrown the top telly names into the ring – including The Chase host Bradley Walsh.
Opening up on his weekends off from filming, the star admitted that while he does often tune in to watch Strictly, being on it would throw off his weekend plans completely.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Bradley, 65, revealed of his schedule from Fridays to Sundays: ‘I come home from the studio on a Friday, have dinner and watch I’m A Celebrity.
‘On Saturday, I’ll watch the football results, have dinner and a pint, watch Strictly, then I’m A Celebrity, and flip back to the BBC for Match Of The Day.’
Fans have thrown the top telly names into the ring – including The Chase host Bradley Walsh -who seemingly batted away the idea that he could take over
His Sundays also heavily feature telly, with the presenter adding he often treats himself to a lie-in before tuning into 1960s drama series Columbo, followed by the football and some reality TV.
Batting away the idea he could be next to take over from Claudia and Tess, he added: ‘If I was to host Strictly, it would absolutely ruin my weekend.’
Former show hosts Claudia, 54, and Tess, 56, announced their departure from Strictly in October 2025.
The duo, who had been presenting the BBC One dancing competition together since 2014, took to Instagram to break the news.
Speaking to the camera, Claudia began: ‘There have been some rumblings and we want you to hear this from us.’
Tess chimed in: ‘We have news, after 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly, we have decided that the time is right to step aside and pass over the baton.’
Claudia and Tess took to Instagram to break the news to Strictly Come Dancing’s fans with a heartfelt video
‘The very sparkly baton!’ Claudia laughed, before turning to her co-star and pal to add: ‘You’ve been here since the beginning.’
Tess replied, pointing to Claudia: ‘With Bruce, lovely Bruce [Forsyth], and that was over two decades ago but a lot of the time has been with you.
‘It’s been a huge part of our lives since our children were literally babes in arms, and now they’re adults, and I think genuinely we have cherished every second.’
Claudia continued: ‘We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show and we just want to thank the Strictly team, because Strictly is the people who make it.’
The duo penned under the video: ‘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. 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.’