Bradley Walsh fuelled rumours he is set to be named the new Strictly Come Dancing host after paying a surprise visit to the set on Saturday.

The TV star, 65, was reported earlier this month to be in ‘final talks’ to replace exiting Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, in a move that would be a nod to the show’s original host Bruce Forsyth.

The iconic female duo, who have fronted the show together since 2014, announced their departure in an emotional social media video to fans last month.

During a break in filming The Chase at Elstree Studios this weekend, Bradley popped next door to meet some of the Strictly crew, who branded him ‘lovely’.

Head dressmaker Theresa Hewlett shared the snap of a beaming Bradley posing alongside her colleagues to X ahead of Saturday’s live show.

She captioned the post: ‘The Chase is filmed next door and he popped in to say hi. What a lovely man Bradley Walsh is!’.

Bradley Walsh fuelled rumours he is set to be named the new Strictly Come Dancing host after paying a surprise visit to the set on Saturday

Meanwhile a source told The Sun: ‘Bradley’s appearance in the studio has certainly set tongues wagging. Bosses are keen for Bradley to take over. He is a real pro and has brilliant experience hosting live shows.

‘Producers need a safe pair of hands to steady the ship amid so much damage. Of course, he’d have a female alongside him as part of a duo.

Before adding: ‘Bradley is popular with both old and young and would bring humour and some old-school showbiz quality.’

Daily Mail have contacted BBC and Bradley’s representatives for comment.

Strictly bosses are said to be in ‘final talks’ with Gladiators host Bradley Wlsh and The One Show’s Alex Jones to take over hosting duties on the BBC One show.

While Alex, 48,  is best known for hosting The One Show since 2010, when she took over from Christine Lampard, Bradley is the face of ITV‘s The Chase, as well as co-host of the BBC’s Gladiators, alongside son Barney.

TV insiders revealed that talks are already taking place for the duo to appear in 2026. 

A source told The Sun: ‘Alex and Bradley are both the favourites to take over from Tess and Claudia… they have been in the BBC’s sights for some time.

The TV star, 65, was reported earlier this month to be in ‘final talks’ to replace exiting Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman , in a move that would be a nod to the original host Bruce Forsyth

During a break in filming The Chase at Elstree Studios this weekend, Bradley popped next door to meet some of the Strictly crew, who branded him ‘lovely’

The One Show’s Alex Jones is also said to have been approached and in talks to take over hosting duties on the BBC One show

‘Bradley and Alex are both seen as accomplished broadcasters. He brings the wisecracks, and Alex is the calm head who knows how to handle live situations after 15 years of co-hosting The One Show.

‘Alex is a massive fan of Strictly, too, so this would be the dream gig for her.’

The insider confirmed that ‘nothing is set in stone yet’, but that discussions involving the pair had been ‘moving in a really positive direction’ so far.

As well as being a Strictly fan, having interviewed its stars, the professional dancers and the judges on The One Show, Alex also took to the dance floor in 2011.

She and professional dance partner James Jordan reached the semi-final of the show before they were eliminated in fifth place.

Tess and Claudia announced they are leaving Strictly back in October. Their final show will be the pre-recorded Christmas special which airs on Christmas Day.

Tess, 56, has featured in every one of the BBC1 juggernaut’s 21 series, stepping up as main host in 2014 to replace Bruce Forsyth, while Claudia, 54, joined the main show the same year having hosted BBC2 spin-off It Takes Two since 2004.

But despite Claudia being seen as the sidekick for the past 11 years, the presenter’s stock has rocketed since enjoying success on fellow BBC1 show The Traitors, plus new spin-off Celebrity Traitors, and according to some, is keen to explore opportunities away from Strictly.

Having made her intentions clear to Tess, the former model decided to remain loyal to their pact of leaving together, believing she had ‘served her time’ on the show.

In recent years, Tess has made several hints about passing on the baton in regards to being main host, while Claudia revealed she encountered awkward conversations with Strictly bosses about the show’s clashes with family life, namely taking her son to university to kickstart his first year away from home.