Josh Widdicombe gives verdict on Strictly rehearsals and admits why he's 'terrified'

Josh Widdicombe is set to grace the Strictly Come Dancing stage in the upcoming weeks as he joins the line-up for the Christmas special.

The 41-year-old comedian, known for his appearances on The Last Leg and Live At The Apollo, has been announced as the first celebrity to join this year's yuletide edition of the dance contest.

As he prepares for his debut, the star has been dedicating time to rehearsals and shared his thoughts on the experience, confessing, "I thought I'd be terrible."

While on Saturday Kitchen, host Matt Tebbutt quizzed Josh about his progress, to which he responded: "It's going well."

Elaborating further, the television personality added: "I'm loving it, I think. I don't know. I thought I was going to be terrible and I'm just bad", reports the Mirror.

Guest chef Niklas Ekstedt took interest and jokingly inquired: "Do they pay you for doing that?" Dodging the question, Josh remarked: "On a TV show, that's never been the follow-up question. 'What's the breakdown of the finances for this tour that you're promoting?'"

Changing the subject, Josh continued: "It's really fun and my daughter's seven and she's a huge fan. I brought her to training to meet Karen and that was really nice."

Reflecting on his decision to participate in Strictly, Josh expressed: "I am utterly terrified this will end in humiliation and worried I'm going to be so bad I will ruin Christmas for the nation. Why have I done this?"

During the programme, Josh expressed how Strictly seems to be dominating his daily life at the moment, saying: "It's kind of overshadowing everything else right now in my life."

He continued with some humour, stating, "Yeah, I agreed to do Christmas Strictly, and I'll be honest, I feel now like I'm a dancer that occasionally does comedy."

Moreover, he revealed the impact on his social interactions, commenting, "It's quite full on, and I've had more messages from people in my life more excited about that than the rest of my career put together."

Josh is set to dance alongside long-time Strictly favourite Karen Hauer for the special festive edition, which is scheduled to grace screens on Christmas Day.

He stands among the first batch of celebrities confirmed for the show, alongside RuPaul's Drag Race UK star Tayce and television presenter Vogue Williams. Tayce will be strutting their stuff with Kai Widdrington, while Vogue will take to the dance floor with Carlos Gu.

Anticipation is high as fans await the announcement of the remaining celebrities who will complete this year's star-studded Christmas line-up.

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day