Strictly's Motsi Mabuse hits back at tension rumours with new host Josh Widdicombe as she makes cheeky remark - as fans warm to Johannes Radebe

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-11 · by Niomi Harris

Quick Summary

Motsi Mabuse addressed rumors of tension with new Strictly Come Dancing host Josh Widdicombe by making a playful comment during the third episode of the show. During a segment where Josh joked about himself and Emma Willis being dancers, Motsi emphasized her friendship with Josh by adding "my FRIEND!" sarcastically to his joke, which prompted laughter from both Josh and the audience. Despite this interaction, some fans remained skeptical about their relationship, while others began warming up to Johannes Radebe as a host, noting that he is gradually settling into his role after initial criticism of the show's presenting format.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On Saturday, during the third live episode of Strictly Come Dancing, judge Motsi Mabuse addressed rumors of tension with new host Josh Widdicombe. Following a performance, Josh joked that he and co-host Emma Willis were "dancers," directing his comment towards Motsi. In response, she playfully remarked, "Yes Josh, my FRIEND!" This exchange prompted laughter from the audience and was noticed by fans on social media platforms like X (formerly known as Twitter). Some viewers interpreted her remark as a way to quash speculation about discord between the two, while others remained skeptical. Despite initial criticism of the new hosting trio in earlier weeks, fan sentiment towards Johannes Radebe has notably improved, with comments noting he is "getting better every week."

Written for “Strictly Come Dancing Controversy” on 2026-10-11, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
80
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
8%
6 of 80 hedged
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Correction & hedging signals
64.6
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-10-11 · how these are computed

Story

📰 Strictly Come Dancing Controversy
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

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Publisher

Daily Mail · 4811 article(s) · 13 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 13 correction(s)
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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Niomi Harris
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Following Cach Mercer's routine, Josh quipped that he and Emma Willis were 'dancers' and as he directed his joke towards Motsi, she responded by remarking: 'Yes Josh, my FRIEND!'
🔮 Should any further information be found, further enquiries will be conducted.'
Also by Niomi Harris
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

South African

Subjects

Josh PERSON · 20× Motsi PERSON · 13× Emma Willis PERSON · 5× Johannes PERSON · 3× Cach Mercer's PERSON · 2× Craig PERSON · 2× Johannes Radebe PERSON · 2× Josh Widdicombe PERSON · 2× Motsi Mabuse PERSON · 2× Shirley PERSON · 2×

Narrative

Her not-so-subtle comment saw Josh roar with laughter as the rest of the audience giggled along, causing fans to pick up on the moment on X Meanwhile, the latest instalment of Strictly saw fans note that Johannes Radebe is really 'settling' into his role as they finally begin to warm to the hosting trio The former show professional dancer, as well as his co-hosts Emma Willis and Josh have come under fire since the first live show's presenting format was panned by fans And while last week saw many complain that the format was not switched up, week three finally saw fans begin to thaw to the trio, particularly Johannes Taking to X, fans shared their thoughts, they penned: 'Johannes is getting better every week.'
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-11
🔮 Following Cach Mercer's routine, Josh quipped that he and Emma Willis were 'dancers' and as he directed his joke towards Motsi, she responded by remarking: 'Yes Josh, my FRIEND!'

Claims (80 extracted, 6 hedged)

Strictly Come Dancing's Motsi Mabuse seemingly hit back at rumours of tensions between herself and Josh Widdicombe on Saturday as she made a cheeky remark. asserted
she → hit → remark
During week two viewers started to notice a simmering 'tension' between Motsi and Josh, as they suggested the judge had 'had enough of the comedian interrupting her with his jokes'. uncertain
comedian → start → jokes
However, as week three kicked off, Motsi attempted to dispel the speculation as she insisted that Josh was her 'friend'. asserted
Josh → kick → speculation
Following Cach Mercer's routine, Josh quipped that he and Emma Willis were 'dancers' and as he directed his joke towards Motsi, she responded by remarking: 'Yes Josh, my FRIEND!' asserted
she → follow → FRIEND
Her not-so-subtle comment saw Josh roar with laughter as the rest of the audience giggled along, causing fans to pick up on the moment on X. While one fan stated: 'Yes Josh, my FRIEND' lmao!! asserted
fan → see → X.
Motsi saw the discourse online last week about her not getting along with Josh', another wasn't convinced that the two were indeed pals as they noted: 'Motsi can't stand Josh.' asserted
Motsi → see → Josh
Strictly Come Dancing's Motsi Mabuse seemingly hit back at rumours of tensions between herself and Josh Widdicombe on Saturday as she made a cheeky remark During week two viewers started to notice a simmering 'tension' between Motsi and Josh, as they suggested the judge had 'had enough of the comedian interrupting her with his jokes' uncertain
comedian → hit → jokes
It comes after the launch show saw Josh on the receiving end of a very sassy comment from Motsi as she was trying to give her expert feedback to the couples. asserted
she → come → couples
After Craig Revel Horwood 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!' asserted
we → give → Shirley
Motsi burst out laughing before then replying: 'Well I have to do my job too!' asserted
I → burst → job
Josh then jokingly shouted: 'Shirley!' as if to skip over Motsi's feedback like Craig had suggested. uncertain
Craig → shout → feedback
Motsi then cheekily remarked to Josh: 'Well are we going to be friends or enemies, you choose now!' as the audience and Josh laughed it off. asserted
audience → remark → it
The comment sparked speculation of tensions between the pair, with Motsi recently defending the hosts and the ongoing critique of the show, insisting 'it already feels like we're finding our rhythm'. asserted
we → spark → rhythm
Meanwhile, the latest instalment of Strictly saw fans note that Johannes Radebe is really 'settling' into his role as they finally begin to warm to the hosting trio. asserted
they → see → trio
The former show professional dancer, as well as his co-hosts Emma Willis and Josh have come under fire since the first live show's presenting format was panned by fans – with Josh branded a 'spare part.' asserted
Josh → come → fans
Viewers noted that the South African dancer, 39, began talking when the couples were making their way up the stairs to the 'Clauditorium' amid the audience applause, meaning fans were unable to hear what was being said. And while last week saw many complain that the format was not switched up, week three finally saw fans begin to thaw to the trio, particularly Johannes. asserted
fans → note → trio
Following Cach Mercer's routine, Josh quipped that he and Emma Willis were 'dancers' and as he directed his joke towards Motsi, she responded by remarking: 'Yes Josh, my FRIEND!' asserted
she → follow → FRIEND
Her not-so-subtle comment saw Josh roar with laughter as the rest of the audience giggled along, causing fans to pick up on the moment on X Meanwhile, the latest instalment of Strictly saw fans note that Johannes Radebe is really 'settling' into his role as they finally begin to warm to the hosting trio The former show professional dancer, as well as his co-hosts Emma Willis and Josh have come under fire since the first live show's presenting format was panned by fans And while last week saw many complain that the format was not switched up, week three finally saw fans begin to thaw to the trio, particularly Johannes Taking to X, fans shared their thoughts, they penned: 'Johannes is getting better every week.' asserted
Johannes → see → thoughts
'Emma Willis is fab..so natural with the contestants..loving her on #strictly johannes and Josh definitely more settled as well. asserted
Josh → love → johannes
'Jojo is settling in better and better each week. asserted
Jojo → settle → ?
'Emma looking stunning this evening. asserted
Emma → look → ?
'Johannes up in the Clauditorium (Jojotorium?) is inspired thinking. asserted
Johannes → inspire → Clauditorium
His personality and liveliness puts people at ease but he also has the dance knowledge to be able to talk about choreography and technicalities. asserted
he → put → choreography
I also just love Jojo. asserted
I → love → Jojo
Week three's show saw EastEnders actress Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola kick off the proceedings with their Samba to Bamboléo by Gipsy Kings. asserted
Turner → see → Kings
While Anton hailed it an 'absolutely marvellous' Samba, he added she needed to work on her 'feet and stability', with Craig stating the soap star 'needed more energy' on her upper body. asserted
star → hail → body
Lacey and Vito's scoring got off to a solid start, with a respectable 26 points. asserted
scoring → get → points
Will Best and Dianne Buswell did the Waltz to With You I’m Born Again by Billy Preston and Syreeta. asserted
I → do → Preston
Giving his usual cutting remark, Craig said it was 'a little bit square and needed more drive', while Shirley praised Will's 'really nice footwork', though she warned he needed to work on his 'pivoting'. asserted
he → give → pivoting
Will and Dianne bagged a decent 25 points, their highest mark so far. asserted
Will → bag → points
Week three's show saw EastEnders actress Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola kick off the proceedings with their Samba to Bamboléo by Gipsy Kings Lacey and Vito's scoring got off to a solid start, with a respectable 26 points Will Best and Dianne Buswell did the Waltz to With You I’m Born Again by Billy Preston and Syreeta Giving his usual cutting remark, Craig said it was 'a little bit square and needed more drive'. asserted
it → see → drive
Will and Dianne bagged a decent 25 points, their highest mark so far Taking to the floor next, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr danced the Quickstep to I’m A Believer by The Monkees. asserted
Phillips → bag → Monkees
But the dance was panned by the judges who were not impressed While last week's score was a 10-point improvement from week one, this week Shaun scored a disappointing 15 points - landing him at the bottom of the leaderboard Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby then danced their Couple’s Choice to Beware.. asserted
Mercer → pan → Choice
The South London Lover Boy by RAYE Despite the mixed comments, Cach and Maddie bagged their highest score yet with an impressive 31 points After landing in the dance off last week, Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu attempted to impress as they danced the Viennese Waltz to Never Tear Us Apart by INXS asserted
they → bag → INXS
But while their feedback was divided, the judges stood united on their scores as they all gave sevens, giving the pair a total of 28 points Taking to the floor next, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr danced the Quickstep to I’m a Believer by The Monkees. asserted
I → divide → Monkees
However, while the former footballer gave it his all on the dancefloor, he was panned by the judges who were sadly not impressed with his efforts. asserted
who → give → efforts
Shirley said of their routine: 'not connected in hold, too many shuffles and not enough quickstep,' while Craig said the posture wasn't great and that there was 'heavy gapping'. And while last week's score was a ten-point improvement from week one, this week Shaun scored a disappointing 15 points – landing him at the bottom of the leaderboard. asserted
Shaun → say → leaderboard
Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby then danced their Couple’s Choice to Beware.. The South London Lover Boy by RAYE. asserted
Mercer → dance → RAYE
The energetic routine was a visual feast, however, the judges were divided in their feedback, with Craig saying it was 'too stop-and-start' and Motsi noting it 'needs more polish', while Anton 'liked it a lot'. asserted
Anton → divide → it
Despite the mixed comments, Cach and Maddie bagged their highest score yet with an impressive 31 points. asserted
Cach → bag → points
…and 40 more, not listed.
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