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Strictly's Janette Manrara says she 'sobbed for a week' and was left 'devastated' after missing out on presenter job

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Crawley, J. (2026, September 30). Strictly's Janette Manrara says she 'sobbed for a week' and was left 'devastated' after missing out on presenter job. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16172025/Strictlys-Janette-Manrara-says-sobbed-week-left-devastated-missing-presenter-job.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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

Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-30 · by Joanna Crawley

Quick Summary

Janette Manrara, a 42-year-old professional dancer and presenter known for her long association with "Strictly Come Dancing," revealed that she was devastated after losing out on becoming one of the show’s presenters. She auditioned for the role but was unsuccessful despite her extensive experience with the BBC production over 13 years, including eight seasons as a competitor and five years hosting related shows. Manrara expressed her emotional reaction to the rejection, saying she "sobbed for a week," and shared this in an interview on the Great Company podcast. She emphasized that little feedback was given by show bosses after the audition process.
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

Janette Manrara, a professional dancer who competed on Strictly Come Dancing for eight years and later hosted its companion show It Takes Two, auditioned for the role of the main show's presenter earlier this year. She was devastated after being told she didn't get the job, sobbing for a week and calling it "the biggest rejection of my career." The new presenters for the upcoming series are Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and another former Strictly pro, Johannes Radebe, who will replace long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Manrara said talking to other celebrities who missed out on similar opportunities helped her cope with the rejection.

Written for “Strictly Come Dancing Snub” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

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

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted
34
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 34 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail'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

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8757 article(s) · 21 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 21 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Joanna Crawley
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Posting a lengthy response, Myha'la said she would have agreed with Sachanna's comments, if not for the fact 'that early in the game there is VERY little to grasp on to, and I gave them… a lot'.
🔮 Digger is now on course to be the biggest box office flop of all time, with its second weekend ticket sales dropping by a huge 60% If the estimates pan out and Digger does lose $245million, it would put the film among the biggest box office bombs of all time.
🔮 She lost out on the job, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, another former Strictly pro, taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for the new series.
🔮 Writing for Metro in a four-star review, Adam Miller says: 'The Domestic Goddess is easily the best thing that could ever have happened to Bake Off...
🔮 He added that though he doesn't think about the illness he faced, he was scared of going to his scans for fear of what the medics may discover.
🔮 - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Monty Don is quitting Gardeners' World after more than 20 years as the BBC show's longest-serving Head Gardener. The presenter, 71, made the announcement on Tuesday confirming the current series will be his last.
Also by Joanna Crawley
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Joanna Crawley →

Topics

BBC British Great Company the Strictly Live Tour

Subjects

Janette PERSON · 8× Zoe Ball PERSON · 3× BBC ORG · 2× Emma Willis PERSON · 2× Fleur East PERSON · 2× Janette Manrara PERSON · 2× Claudia Winkleman PERSON · 1× Johannes Radebe PERSON · 1× Josh Widdicombe PERSON · 1× Tess Daly PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The professional dancer, who competed on Strictly for eight years before becoming the host of companion show It Takes Two, auditioned for the role of the main show's host earlier this year She said talking with other celebs who missed out on the job, most notably fellow It Takes Two hosts Zoe Ball and Fleur East (pictured) helped her come to terms with the rejection '
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 She lost out on the job, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, another former Strictly pro, taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for the new series.

Claims (34 extracted, 0 hedged)

Janette Manrara said losing out on the Strictly's presenter job 'was a really hard pill to swallow' after spending 13 years of her career on the BBC show. asserted
losing → say → show
The professional dancer, who competed on Strictly for eight years before becoming the host of companion show It Takes Two, auditioned for the role of the main show's host earlier this year. asserted
It → compete → host
She lost out on the job, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, another former Strictly pro, taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for the new series. asserted
Willis → lose → series
Janette, 42, has called it 'the biggest rejection of my career', admitting she 'sobbed for a week' after hearing it was a no. asserted
it → call → week
Speaking to Jamie Laing on the Great Company podcast, she explained she was feeling very optimistic after going through the lengthy audition process: 'I was in the chemistry tests and I did really well in the chemistry tests. asserted
I → speak → tests
At least that's what I was told. asserted
I → tell → what
So I assumed I did a great job. asserted
I → assume → job
After bosses called her agent to deliver the news Janette said 'I remember coming home and it was a really hard pill to swallow... asserted
it → call → news
I sobbed for a week. asserted
I → sob → week
I'm not going to even begin to lie. asserted
I → go → ?
I was devastated.' asserted
I → devastate → ?
Janette Manrara said losing out on the Strictly's presenter job 'was a really hard pill to swallow' after spending 13 years of her career on the BBC show She said she assumed with her years of experience on the show both as a dancer and as a presenter she 'was a front runner'. asserted
she → say → presenter
'I went from being a professional dancer for eight years on the show,' Janette pointed out. asserted
Janette → go → show
'Then I became the host of It Takes Two for five years and at the same time hosted the Strictly Live tour for 5 years. asserted
It → become → years
And in the Strictly Live Tour, I play both Tess and Claudia with all the judges and the couples.' asserted
I → play → judges
'So when you just put it on paper, you assume, okay, I've got a shot because all the pieces were there.' asserted
pieces → put → shot
She told Jamie that she received little feedback from Strictly bosses after the audition, recalling how she called them and 'they were just there for me. asserted
they → tell → me
Ultimately they said, "You were brilliant. asserted
You → say → ?
We loved you. asserted
We → love → you
I can't tell you why". asserted
I → tell → you
'' What did help her come to terms with the rejection was talking with other celebs who missed out on the job, most notably fellow It Takes Two hosts Zoe Ball and Fleur East, who have also spoken out on their failed auditions. asserted
who → help → auditions
'We've been speaking a lot and we all feel like we've gone through the seven stages of grief,' Janette said. asserted
Janette → speak → grief
'But ultimately I have to understand I'm in an industry that is very very fickle.' asserted
that → have → industry
Janette also noted she was proud of herself for competing against major names in British telly. asserted
she → note → telly
'I was putting myself in a room against names like Emma Willis, Rylan Clark, Zoe Ball, like all of them that you've seen that have spoken out about being in the chemistry test. asserted
that → put → test
I was one of them,' she admitted. asserted
she → admit → them
The professional dancer, who competed on Strictly for eight years before becoming the host of companion show It Takes Two, auditioned for the role of the main show's host earlier this year She said talking with other celebs who missed out on the job, most notably fellow It Takes Two hosts Zoe Ball and Fleur East (pictured) helped her come to terms with the rejection ' asserted
her → compete → rejection
So, if I can take anything away from it, it's not that I didn't get the job. asserted
I → take → job
What I am taking away from it is that actually I've done a bloody good job in the last seven years with honing my craft of presenting and understanding the TV world and the business of how things fun. asserted
things → take → world
Another job will come. asserted
job → come → ?
Janette has now cut ties with Strictly, after she and Fleur were replaced as the hosts of It Takes Two during the show's major overhaul this year. asserted
It → cut → overhaul
Next up for Janette is a chance to flex her acting muscles in the new play as she stars in new play Affluenza at London's Riverside Studios, alongside Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp, Bridgerton star Rupert Young, and EastEnders actor Juliet Cowan. asserted
she → flex → Schnapp
Janette's husband Aljaž Škorjanec is still competing on Strictly, and this year is partnered with Gavin & Stacey star Melanie Walters. asserted
Škorjanec → compete → Walters
Things got off to a shaky start on Saturday's first live show with new presenting team Josh, Emma and Johannes taking the reins as viewers weren't convinced by the set-up. And the BBC also failed to pull in as many viewers as they perhaps would have wanted, as 4.8 million tuned in – down substantially on last year's 6.2 million for the first live show. asserted
million → get → show
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