Angela Rippon squashes Strictly host takeover rumors

 has addressed the rumours that she's going to take over from and as one of the new Strictly Come Dancing hosts. 

The broadcaster, 81, appeared on Friday's episode of  to chat to presenters , 59, and , 48, about her upcoming series Angela Rippon's River Cruises.

Their conversation soon turned to dance show Strictly after Angela placed seventh alongside her partner , 30, in the dance competition back in 2023. 

Kate was keen to find out if she was going to take over from Claudia, 53, and Tess, 56, after they announced that they had in October last year.  

'Are you To be fair there is a lot of names that are chucked about!' Kate said. 

A shocked Angela replied: 'Mine hasn't been...' to which Kate told her: 'It has! We've been talking about it.' 

Former newsreader Angela then shut down the whispers by telling the hosts: 'Look I am not going to...

'No they haven't asked me. I mean let's face it, you both know, if the BBC rang you and said "Would you like to present ?" You would say "Yes" in a heartbeat. 

'Of course you would, of course, I've been involved in dancing a long time, I'd love to. 

'But they are not going to ask me. Why would they? 

'They've already made up their minds, I think about two weeks ago.' 

There have been plenty of names thrown around that people think may take over from the iconic pair.

Some include the likes of Emma Willis, Rylan Clark, Zoe Ball, Alison Hammond and Alex Jones. 

It is not known who will be . 

After weeks of speculation and multiple major names turning the job down, nine shortlisted stars were summoned to a top-secret location in London to battle it out in full-scale dress rehearsals with a judging panel and live band in a bid to get the troubled show back on track.

BBC bosses held secret auditions and chemistry tests with the celebrities and forced the stars to sign strict NDAs to keep the tryouts under wraps.

Last month a source told The Sun: 'It's not just about reading autocue. They'll be looking at how people work together and humour is a massive part of it. There's everything to play for.'

The chosen few who were called to the final test were watched closely and bosses are hoping to make a decision soon.

Among those confirmed to be in the callbacks were Rylan Clark, Emma Willis, Tom Allen, podcast host Angela Scanlon and One Show presenter Alex Jones.

Other stars summoned to the auditions were This Morning host Alison Hammond, The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh, RuPaul's Drag Race star La Voix and Radio 2's Zoe Ball.

A source said: 'They really want to bring the fun this year. It's all about chemistry, who clicks instantly and can keep the energy up live on air.

'They could stick with two female hosts as that's worked brilliantly. But they're also open to mixing it up.

'If Rylan and Tom Allen click, that could be a hilarious pairing. Equally, they could even introduce a third presenter to shake things up.'

The Beeb have recently given an insight into what fans can expect for the 24th series of the much-loved programme.

The likes of Dianne Buswell, 37, Nancy Xu, 34, Vito Coppola, 33, Julian Caillon, 30, Carlos Gu, 33, Lauren Oakley, 35, Amy Dowden, 35, Katya Jones, 36, Neil Jones, 44, Nikita Kuzmin, 28, Jowita Przystał, 31, Johannes Radebe, 39, Aljaž Škorjanec, 36, Alexis Warr, 25, and Kai will be returning to the dance floor this year.

They will be joined by some new professional dancers who are yet to be announced. 

Karen Hauer, 43, Gorka Marquez, 35, Nadiya Bychkova, 36, Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, and Luba Mushtuk , 36, were all given the boot.

The celebrities will be judged by Shirley Ballas, 65, Craig Revel Horwood, 61, Motsi Mabuse, 45, and Anton du Beke, 59. 

And some of the themes returning each week will include Movies, Icons, Halloween and Musicals, as well as the yearly visit to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.  

But unfortunately viewers will also have to wait a little bit longer to find out which famous faces have decided to sign up to the show this year.