Saturday Kitchen: Josh Widdicombe burns his hand on stove
Comedian Josh Widdicombe is gearing up for a festive twirl on the dance floor as he joins the roster for the much-loved Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
At 41, the comedian, acclaimed for his stints on The Last Leg and Live At The Apollo, is the first celebrity announced to partake in this year's seasonal instalment of the popular dance competition.
As he gears up for his debut, Widdicombe has been wholeheartedly immersing himself in rehearsals and couldn't help but jest about his dancing prowess, conceding, "I thought I'd be terrible."
On Saturday Kitchen, host Matt Tebbutt was eager to learn about Widdicombe's progress, eliciting a reply of, "It's going well", from the contestant, reports Wales Online.
In a candid admission, Widdicombe enthused: "I'm loving it, I think. I don't know. I thought I was going to be terrible and I'm just bad."
Adding a dash of humour to the conversation, guest chef Niklas Ekstedt cheekily wondered: "Do they pay you for doing that?"
Sidestepping the query, Widdicombe humorously retorted: "On a TV show, that's never been the follow-up question. 'What's the breakdown of the finances for this tour that you're promoting?'"
Switching gears, the comedian disclosed: "It's really fun and my daughter's seven and she's a huge fan. I brought her to training to meet Karen and that was really nice."
Reflecting on his foray into the reality show, Widdicombe shared his trepidations: "I am utterly terrified this will end in humiliation and worried I'm going to be so bad I will ruin Christmas for the nation. Why have I done this?"
Josh candidly shared that Strictly is consuming his life at present, remarking: "It's kind of overshadowing everything else right now in my life."
Injecting his trademark humour, he quipped, "Yeah, I agreed to do Christmas Strictly, and I'll be honest, I feel now like I'm a dancer that occasionally does comedy."
He also touched upon its influence on his personal interactions, saying, "It's quite full on, and I've had more messages from people in my life more excited about that than the rest of my career put together."
Partnering with the much-adored Karen Hauer, Josh is gearing up for The Strictly Christmas special, set to dazzle viewers on Christmas Day.
He joins the initial roster of celebrities announced for the show, which includes RuPaul's Drag Race UK sensation Tayce teaming up with Kai Widdrington, and TV host Vogue Williams dancing with Carlos Gu.
Fans remain on tenterhooks as they look forward to the reveal of the complete list of celebs who will light up this year's glitzy Christmas cast.
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
