Did Zoe Ball just ‘confirm’ role as new Strictly host? Presenter drops biggest hint she’s landed the job

When Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly shared the surprise news they'd be leaving Strictly, speculation immediately went into overdrive about who would replace them.

Since the shock announcement was made in October last year, the BBC has remained quiet about who the iconic show's new presenters might be, but Zoe Ball has been one of the most popular names often thrown into the mix by fans.

It now appears Zoe herself has 'confirmed' she is set to host the popular dancing series. During an episode of her Dig It podcast, hosted with friend Jo Whiley, Zoe shared she'd had her roots touched up and some hair extensions added because she "needed to be glamorous."

The conversation between the pair happened as they were signing off from a recent episode of the podcast, where they share news of any projects they have in the pipeline.

Zoe says, "Absolutely nothing going on my end, absolutely nothing at all" adding cryptically, "she says suspiciously."

After chatting about getting her hair done for the upcoming project, Zoe initially says she's hoping to reveal more about it in the future, revealing it's currently to be kept under wraps.

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Jo Whiley then says, "I'm not going to ask you anything then either," in an attempt to help her friend keep the upcoming role private from listeners.

However, Jo immediately makes an about turn on not making any further enquiries about the 'secret,' asking directly why Zoe needed to be "glamorous," and creeping closer towards not keeping it quiet at all.

Nonchalantly, Zoe replies that her new hair is "just for doing the garden." Jo doesn't waste a beat before stepping in with, "Strictly gardening then?"

With those three words, has the biggest hint been dropped that Zoe is one of the Claudia and Tess replacements, and is the cat well and truly out of the bag?

So far, it's believed Amanda Holden, Alan Carr and Alison Hammond were all approached to take over the Strictly hosting job, but eventually turned it down to focus on existing commitments.

According to The Sun, Alex Jones, Rylan Clark, Emma Willis and Bradley Walsh also entered into talks to take over from the pair, but were also unable to commit to the role.

A TV insider tells publication, "When the news first broke that Tess and Claudia were leaving, there was the initial sense that the best jobs in TV had come up for grabs, but as time has gone on, the feeling has shifted within the industry."

"A lot of big names have been approached and had chats, but have ended up turning it down for a multitude of reasons – even though saying no to this gig would have been unimaginable a few years ago."

While speculation remains rife months after the news of Tess and Claudia's exit broke, it appears that Zoe and Jo's huge hint could mean we're one big step closer to finding out who will be stepping into their shoes.