The BBC invented an entirely fictional gardening programme to conceal the identities of its new Strictly Come Dancing presenting team during top-secret chemistry tests.
Johannes Radebe, Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis have now revealed that drivers were told they were collecting them for an audition for The Great Garden Glow Up, even though the trio were being considered to front the BBC One dance competition.
A cab ride into television make-believe
Speaking to Richard Osman on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Radebe, 39, Widdicombe, 43, and Willis, 50, described a vetting process so tightly controlled that none of them initially knew where they were being taken.
Each prospective host was summoned separately and collected by car. The drivers, meanwhile, had been given a completely different story: they believed their passengers were attending a chemistry test for a proposed gardening makeover series.
Willis likened the cloak-and-dagger operation to “a bit like [The] Traitors”, reflecting a process built around compartmentalised information, staged locations and carefully managed arrivals.
The fictional title, The Great Garden Glow Up, was apparently created solely to protect the BBC’s plans from leaks. It was a neat piece of misdirection at a time when speculation about the next generation of Strictly hosts was already running at full volume.
“I wouldn’t have gone” to the fake audition
Widdicombe later joked that the invented programme was so unconvincing he might have reconsidered had he known the full story.
“I did feel like saying to my agent, ’I wouldn’t have gone to The Great Garden Glow Up chemistry test.’”
Osman seized on the absurdity of the setup, suggesting that Widdicombe must have spent the journey being silently assessed by a cabbie who believed he might be suitable to present a gardening television series.
“I am in the back of the car and there is a cabbie who is judging me, because he thinks I would present a show called The Great Garden Glow Up,” Osman said.
The exchange captured the peculiar theatre of modern television casting, in which confidentiality agreements, decoy titles and discreet transport can become part of the story long before a presenter appears on screen.
A mock Strictly set behind closed doors
Once the three arrived at the studio, the deception continued. Willis said they found a mock set waiting for them, complete with a camera crew and production staff standing in for the programme’s judges.
“They created a whole new name for a show for the cab drivers,” Willis explained.
“We’re literally going to pretend to do Strictly,” she added, while Widdicombe paid tribute to a producer who had apparently delivered an impressive Craig Revel Horwood impression during the tests.
“Shout out to the producer who did the best Craig Revel Horwood impression I’ve ever seen,” he said.
The elaborate precautions underline how sensitive the presenting change has been for one of the BBC’s most recognisable entertainment brands. Strictly Come Dancing has long been associated with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, making the selection of their successors a closely watched decision for both the corporation and its audience.
New hosts, new dancers and a revamped series
Radebe, Widdicombe and Willis will take charge when Strictly Come Dancing returns for its 24th series this month. The launch show is scheduled to air on 19 September, when the celebrity contestants meet their professional dance partners for the first time.
The changes extend beyond the presenting desk. Several popular professional dancers have departed, while five new dancers have joined the cast, giving the new series a noticeably refreshed line-up.
The first live show follows on 26 September. All 15 contestants will perform in front of the public for the first time, providing the new presenting team with its first major test under the studio lights.
Why it Matters
The BBC’s fictional gardening show may sound like television farce, but it reflects the immense commercial and cultural stakes attached to Strictly Come Dancing. With a beloved presenting era ending, a new on-screen partnership to establish and a reshaped professional cast, the corporation had every incentive to control the narrative before launch night. How viewers respond to Radebe, Widdicombe and Willis will help determine whether Strictly can preserve its familiar Saturday-night magic while beginning one of its most significant reinventions in years.
