Borrowing Craig Revel Horwood’s catchphrase, Strictly Come Dancing’s first live show this year has been branded a ‘di-SAH-ster’.The feature length, 150-minute episode suffered a ratings slump, with the live show bringing in fewer viewers than the pre-recorded launch episode for the first time in seven years. Viewers complained about the new presenters missing cues and fluffing lines and asked the big question – why did the BBC hire three to do a two-man job? A week on from the pre-recorded launch, fans and critics were hoping Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe would have had some time to finesse their roles.During the launch, the three rotated positions in the Elstree studio, seemingly trying Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s jobs for size. But with three vying for two roles, viewers soon singled out the ‘spare part’, homing in on Josh.For the first live show Emma, the most experienced presenter of the three, took over Tess’s position down on the dancefloor, looking out for the nervous contestants during the judges’ critique. Johannes meanwhile was up in the ‘Clauditorium’, debriefing with his fellow pros and their partners. Borrowing Craig Revel Horwood’s catchphrase, Strictly Come Dancing’s first live show has been branded a ‘di-SAH-ster – pictured Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes RadebeThat left Josh, who was placed by Emma’s side adding the punchlines to her commentary, but the decision to split Tess’s role didn’t go down well with viewers who remarked that the comedian looked like a ‘spare part’ next to seasoned professional Emma.Josh’s inexperience, and nerves, were evident when he awkwardly missed his cue during a link. After chatting with Love Island’s Cach Mercer following his dance, Johannes threw to Emma and Josh, asking: ‘Who’s dancing now?’The screen then cut to them to introduce the next pair, but Josh stood there for a few seconds until he realised it was time to speak. The same issue then happened again later in the show during a different link. Later, judge Motsi Mabuse playfully admonished Josh with a sassy comment during Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey’s feedback.After Craig gave his rather cutting feedback, Motsi turned to him to say that she actually agreed with what he was saying for once, which led to Craig quipping: ‘Great – we can move on to Shirley [Ballas] then!’Motsi burst out laughing before then replying: ‘Well I have to do my job too!’ Josh jumped in, jokingly shouting: ‘Shirley!’ as if to skip over Motsi’s feedback.The Strictly veteran cheekily remarked to Josh: ‘Well are we going to be friends or enemies, you choose now!’ as the audience and Josh laughed it off.’Josh feared for his P45 in Week 1. Motsi ate him up,’ declared one viewer on X. The feature length, 150-minute episode suffered a ratings slump, with the live show bringing in less viewers than the pre-recorded launch episode for the first time in seven yearsCritics and viewers have argued though that ‘Josh is really not the problem,’ criticising BBC bosses for hiring three hosts and misassigning their roles.Josh, well versed in comedy live telly thanks to his 14 years on Channel 4’s The Last Leg, should have been given Claudia’s role, argued many fans, pointing out that his gag-filled commentary works best as a soloist. ‘I’m not going to be one of the people hating on Josh. For me the problem is that three hosts just aren’t needed,’ pointed out one viewer on X. ‘He’s just standing there awkwardly next to Emma without much to do. Josh should’ve been up where Johannes is and Johannes should be dancing imo.’,’ngl, i’m not a fan of this hosts setup. I’d switch jojo and josh around, why book a comedian and not put him causing chaos and fun in the clauditorium (or whatever we call it these days) #Strictly,’ agreed another.’Ok. I still don’t feel it. It might have fared better if it was just Josh upstairs and Emma on her own. I feel that dynamic would’ve had more flow. What’s everyone else thinking??.’,’Everyone is being quite hard on Josh but he’s really not the problem. He should be up in the Clauditorium to crack jokes with the contestants. Emma is fantastic and such a natural so she should be on her own on the main floor. Three hosts are too much.’ A week on from the pre-recorded launch, fans and critics were hoping Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe would have had some time to finesse their rolesJosh wasn’t the only one singled out for his lack of experience. Whilst fans praised Emma for ‘carrying the show’, Johannes, in his first presenter role, was heard giving out vital voting information while the dancers were still walking up the stairs, making it nearly impossible to hear what was being said over the audience applause.’Johannes keeps talking before the camera spots him #strictly,’ one viewer pointed out. ‘#Strictly Johannes keeps talking to camera too early, so no idea what he’s telling us about,’ another agreed. There could be hope for a switch-up though as the trio have previously said that they’ll all be trying out different roles throughout the series. With the week one audience feedback to go on surely the BBC will be quickstepping the trio into some urgent debriefs. The BBC failed to pull in as many viewers as they perhaps would have wanted as 4.8 million tuned in on Saturday – down substantially on last year’s 6.2 million for the first live show.There will however of course be some watching in the coming days on catch up which will boost that number.The show also faced some stiff competition as England were playing Spain in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley. The match was broadcast on ITV1 and brought in three million live viewers.It is the first time since 2019 that the first live show has rated lower than the pre-recorded launch show.Last Saturday’s pre-recorded launch show peaked at 5.8 million viewers, according to overnight figures, up slightly on last year’s peak of 5.6 million.However, the episode averaged at 5.3 million viewers, down from 5.4 million in 2025.While the peak figure represents a small rise on last year, it remains well below the figures recorded before the programme was hit by a series of controversies.This includes allegations about the treatment of celebrity contestants and the culture behind the scenes, leading to the departure of professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima and prompting the BBC to introduce tougher welfare measures. Judge Motsi Mabuse playfully admonished Josh with a sassy comment during Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey’s feedback The Strictly veteran cheekily remarked to Josh: ‘Well are we going to be friends or enemies, you choose now!’ as the audience and Josh laughed it offPrior to the string of scandals, the Strictly launch peaked at 6.7 million viewers and averaged 6.3 million in 2023.A Strictly spokesperson said: ‘Strictly was the most watched programme of the night, with a peak of 5 million viewers. As ever, overnight ratings do not give the full picture of all those who watch in an on-demand world.’No one will be leaving the show this week, with the scores from week one combined with next week’s before the first elimination next Sunday.In a surprise turn of events, it was YouTuber John Nellis who topped the week one leaderboard with an impressive foxtrot which earned scores of eights from Shirley, Motsi and Anton and a seven from Craig.John’s high score represents a glimmer of triumph for the BBC who singled out social media stars for this year’s lineup. The celeb lineup was announced on social media this year rather than on radio and TV, but many followers had never heard of the names.John, for example, a ‘sports content creator’, doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.But that doesn’t seem to matter to producers, who are said to have specifically selected stars who have large social media followings, rather than being known to the average Joe. In a surprise turn of events, it was YouTuber John Nellis who topped the week one leaderboard with an impressive foxtrot which earned scores of eights and sevensIn recent years, BBC bosses have started to introduce content creators, reality stars and online influencers to the lineup in a bid to attract Gen Z viewers.It’s a move that paid off, with YouTuber Joe Sugg, Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing and Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri for example, all proving popular with fans and reaching the final.Yet this year, that idea was put into overdrive, with an insider claiming the series has actively targeted stars with a big social presence to attract younger viewers.However, loyal fans were left scratching their heads over the lineup, with many of the comments on the Strictly social posts asking who the celebrity is, rather than expressing any excitement.Indeed, while bosses may be keen to attract Gen Z – the majority of Strictly viewers are in fact Gen X and Baby Boomers.Audience demographic data indicates that around 60 per cent of the audience is aged 55 or older, putting the average viewer age firmly in the mid-50s and above.Yet this year, it’s been suggested Strictly is following a similar, hugely successful social media strategy employed by its US counterpart Dancing With The Stars.Ahead of Saturday Strictly fans called on bosses to ‘go back to normal’ after yet another format change was unveiled.In a video shared by the BBC on Instagram on Friday, giving fans a first look at what the celebrities and their professional partners will be dancing to on Saturday.The clip shows the full Strictly 2026 cast gathered together and writing their names on a sign-up sheet. However, the new approach quickly left some viewers unimpressed.In previous series, each pairing would feature in their own individual video, with the clip revealing the song and dance they had been assigned for the week.There has also been a change to the timing of the announcement. Traditionally, viewers would find out the weekly dance and music choices on a Tuesday, rather than waiting until Friday.Sharing their thoughts on the new format, fans wrote in the comments: ‘I hope next week it is back to the nice little video with what dance and song on a Tuesday!! Please!!!,”I miss the old way of announcing the dances,’ ‘From next week could we please go back to the normal way.’Strictly continues on BBC One on Saturday.