When Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly announced they would be departing Strictly Come Dancing after the last series, all sorts of names were getting thrown into the mix. Former This Morning and Dancing on Ice host Holly Willoughby was one of the few who had been mentioned by bookies fans fans alike. Now as the iconic TV presenter celebrates her birthday, I’ve pulled together my reasons why Holly would absolutely be the right choice to step into the sparkly shoes.

According to Coral, the latest odds put Holly at 8-1, which is a mid spot in the betting, but I honestly think she would be the perfect person if BBC bosses want to keep things the same. Now, BBC bosses have the perfect opportunity to really change things up here, but if they’re hoping to follow the same pattern of the current show, Holly is the woman they should have in mind.

Tess and Claudia are glitzy and glamorous and are the perfect duo for Saturday night TV, and while I don’t know who I would pair with Holly at this stage, Holly is a fantastic glitzy and glamorous replacement — and with the ending of Dancing on Ice, her schedule certainly cleared up. I think Holly could perfectly step into either Tess or Claudia’s roles on the show too, but as a primetime telly host, she knows what she’d be signing up for, and she has the experience of being in high demand.

She took her break from This Morning after the horror plot made against her by Gavin Plumb, but after time out of the spotlight, it would be nice to see Holly shine again; she needed a break to come back good as new. There are some obvious choices to stand in as Tess and Claudia’s replacements, such as Zoe Ball, for one, but Holly would make a fantastic contender.

However, if BBC decides to do something very different, we’re talking a complete shake-up, then Holly won’t be the route to go.

There is a good chance that after all the controversy, Strictly wants to rebrand and target younger audiences, which after seeing the success of YouTube star George Clarke, bosses might be inclined to go down that route.

And if they do, Holly won’t be the right choice, because she is already a household name that holds a lot of history in her previous shows, and while that adds a lot of power behing her as a host, if bosses are looking to bring in a new wave of fans, they may need to really think this one through.

Either way, they’ve got a tough job, because the right answer might not be the most obvious one and Strictly is likely to take a loss in viewership because change brings uncertainty, and people don’t like that. We should hear more on who is going to be stepping into the role in the next few months, but I’m still firmly in the camp of keep it going, and bring Holly to the helm.