EXCLUSIVE: Susanna Reid reveals why 'wonderful' Josh Widdicombe was one of her favourite interviews

Susanna Reid has sat and chat with some of the biggest names across the biggest industries - from politics to sport and showbusiness, she’s done it all.

For woman&home’s centenary issue, available Thursday, September 24, the Good Morning Britain star was the one answering the questions for a change, and she discussed everything from her top five trailblazing moments for women in history to the Hollywood star she’d vote in to No.10 Downing Street.

In the issue, she also revealed what makes someone like Josh Widdicombe a really "fun" guest, why the new Strictly Come Dancing host stood out as one of her favourite interviews of the year and how she approaches an interview with him differently to the likes of a politician.

When asked about her favourite guests to interview, Susanna replied, “Josh Widdicombe.

"We’d been given a heads-up before the interview that he was going to deny [rumours about] being the third presenter of Strictly Come Dancing alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe. We were waiting for him to say, ‘It’s not true’ but he wouldn’t.

"Later that day it was announced that he was, in fact, the new presenter of Strictly Come Dancing. When people don’t answer a question, when it’s someone wonderful like Josh Widdicombe about such a great programme like Strictly, it’s not frustrating. It’s fun."

Susanna was quick to add, though, this doesn’t apply to all guests equally. She quipped, "You don’t want that too much from politicians who you want to nail to the mast!"

And Susanna would know. She has interviewed the likes of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022, when she stood firm and held him accountable for the claims that he and fellow Tory politicians flouted Covid rules during the partygate scandal.

When it was confirmed Josh was joining the show - replacing long-standing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman - reaction from the show’s fans was mixed. However, the first episode which saw the new presenting trio take over was hailed a success by many critics, and attracted over five million viewers.

Josh has since lifted the lid on just what the audition process was like, telling The Times that his first audition involved interacting with judges Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

He then had to watch videos of famous dances from the show and react as if they’d just been performed.

At the time, Josh thought he had done “rubbish”, telling the publication, “I thought I was rubbish. Everything I said felt false. I didn’t know where to put my hands.”

It was meeting his co-hosts to be, Emma and Johannes, that made everything fall into place. He shared, “From the moment we met, everyone was on the same wavelength, everyone was laughing”.