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Emma Willis hits out at 'judgy' Strictly critics after Josh Widdicombe backlash

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Cite

Karasin, E. (2026, September 30). Emma Willis hits out at 'judgy' Strictly critics after Josh Widdicombe backlash. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/emma-willis-strictly-josh-widdicombe-backlash-b1298953.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-30 · by Ekin Karasin

Quick Summary

Emma Willis posted on Instagram about facing criticism after her debut as a presenter on "Strictly Come Dancing," supporting Josh Widdicombe who received negative comments following his performance during live shows. Fans expressed their support for both presenters, appreciating the new dynamic they bring to the show despite initial hiccups. The article highlights the social media backlash and public support for the presenters amid changes in the show's hosting format.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Emma Willis, a presenter for Strictly Come Dancing, responded to critics who were harsh on her co-presenter Josh Widdicombe. Willis shared an Instagram post with a photo of a pink canvas that read: “You will get judged either way so may as well pick the fun option,” accompanied by several other photos from the live show's camera roll dump. Fans commented, supporting Willis and defending both her and Widdicombe against negative feedback. During Saturday’s live show, Widdicombe faced criticism for a moment when he was left standing silently onstage after Radebe asked him and Willis who was dancing next. Despite this, many viewers praised the presenters' unique approach to the show, expressing that they are enjoying the changes brought by both Willis and Widdicombe.

Written for “Strictly Critics Controversy” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

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

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 23 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe reactions to the same incident but different points in time and from different perspectives (Widdicombe's silence and Willis' response to criticism).”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different actions by Emma Willis, one sharing behind-the-scenes photos and playful content with her husband, while the other involves posting a slide about being judged and getting support from fans.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different events related to criticism of Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe, but not the exact same incident at the same time.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 7872 article(s) · 65 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 65 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ekin Karasin
76 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Ekin Karasin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

No topics tagged.

Subjects

Widdicombe PERSON · 6× Willis PERSON · 5× Josh PERSON · 2× Radebe PERSON · 2× Alex Warren PERSON · 1× Cach Mercer PERSON · 1× JoJo PERSON · 1× Johanes PERSON · 1× John Nellis PERSON · 1× Katya Jones PERSON · 1×

Narrative

After chatting with contestant Cach Mercer backstage, Radebe asked Widdicombe and Willis, “Who’s dancing now?” and cut to Widdicombe standing onstage in silence, before realising it was his cue to speak.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 As the last slide in the dump, The Voice presenter posted a snap of a pink canvas with blue writing that read: “You will get judged either way so may as well pick the fun option.”
2026-09-30 · Evening Standard
Emma Willis hits out at 'judgy' Strictly critics after Josh Widdicombe backlash · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

As the last slide in the dump, The Voice presenter posted a snap of a pink canvas with blue writing that read: “You will get judged either way so may as well pick the fun option.” uncertain
You → post → option
Willis captioned the post: “And then… we were LIVE! asserted
we → caption → post
Fans flooded the comments to share their support for Willis’ quote in the last slide, with one writing: “Photo 6 is so true. asserted
Photo → flood → slide
Hope the negatives you 3 presenters are getting, obviously by professionals [yeah right]. asserted
you → hope → professionals
“You know its the small [minded] majority. asserted
You → know → ?
The rest of us are enjoying you 3 presenters bringing something different to Strictly. asserted
presenters → enjoy → Strictly
I for one are loving you all doing You and bringing the individuality to a great show each way. asserted
I → love → show
Another added, “You guys were brilliant, everyone will warm up . asserted
everyone → add → ?
Its all about change x,” and a third posted: “Brilliant as always. asserted
Its → post → change
Widdicombe came under fire after a series of apparent blunders during the live show on Saturday. asserted
Widdicombe → come → Saturday
After chatting with contestant Cach Mercer backstage, Radebe asked Widdicombe and Willis, “Who’s dancing now?” and cut to Widdicombe standing onstage in silence, before realising it was his cue to speak. asserted
it → chat → silence
The same issue appeared to happen again during a different handover. asserted
issue → appear → handover
Hours after the barrage of comments online, Widdicombe took to his Instagram Story to re-share a round-up post from the official Strictly Instagram page. asserted
Widdicombe → take → page
It was captioned, "Caught on camera from week one!" and featured a snap of him flashing a peace sign while posing backstage with Willis. asserted
him → caption → Willis
The comments on the post were full of support for Widdicombe, with fans saying they were “saddened” by the backlash. asserted
they → say → backlash
It saw social media star John Nellis top the Strictly leader board with his partner Katya Jones after impressing judges with a foxtrot to Alex Warren’s Ordinary. asserted
Nellis → see → Ordinary
As part of the new host shake-up, Willis and Widdicombe present by the judges’ table while Radebe welcomes the dancers backstage ahead of the score reveal. asserted
Radebe → present → reveal
The first show did not include a public vote or elimination. asserted
show → include → vote
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