Rylan Clark QUITS Strictly’s It Takes Two and fans are convinced he timed departure to host Big Brother – as AJ Odudu is favourite to take his old job!
Rylan Clark has announced he has quit It Takes Two after four years – and AJ Odudu is the bookies’ favourite to take his old job.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the presenter, 34, issued a statement telling Strictly fans he was ‘saying goodbye’ to the spin-off show to ‘explore what else life has for me’.
It led to fan speculation that Rylan has stepped down to front the Big Brother reboot on ITV2, which will air later this autumn – the same time It Takes Two and the new series of Strictly begins.
It comes just over a year after Rylan was forced to cancel all his work commitments after he suffered a breakdown when his marriage to husband Dan Neal ended.
The presenter’s statement read: ‘After four fantastic years it’s time for me to hang up my glittery jacket and say goodbye to It Takes Two.
Stepped down: Rylan Clark has announced he has quit It Takes Two after four years
‘Been a pleasure’: Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the presenter, 34, issued a statement telling Strictly fans he was ‘saying goodbye’ to the spin-off show to ‘explore what else life has for me’
Good shout: AJ Odudu – who reached the final in Strictly’s 2021 series – is the clear favourite to take over at 4/1
‘I’ve had the best time hosting the show alongside Janette and Zoe and I can’t thank the amazing team enough for always putting on a great show.
‘I’ve been welcomed into the Strictly family and will firmly hold that title dear to me.
‘The time has come for me to pass on the baton to someone else and explore what else life has for me.
‘Thank you Strictly, you will have my heart and dancing feet.’
A host of Rylan’s celebrity pals took to the comment section to share their support over his decision, but say he will be sorely missed.
Strictly host Tess Daly wrote: ‘It won’t be the same without you!!’, while Ruth Langsford said: ‘Won’t be the same without you’.
Angela Scanlon posted lots of love heart emojis. Strictly contestant Tyler West wrote: ‘Love you Ry’.
And many fans took to the comment section to ponder if Rylan was stepping down in favour of the Big Brother hosting gig – but he quickly shut down speculation.
One TV fan account wrote: ‘Not that I am jumping to conclusions or anything but I AM JUMPING… IT Takes Two was always going to clash with Big Brother?’
Host? It led to fan speculation that Rylan has stepped down to front the Big Brother reboot on ITV2, which will air later this autumn – the same time It Takes Two airs
Shutting it down: And many fans took to the comment section to ponder if Rylan was stepping down in favour of the Big Brother hosting gig – but he quickly shut down speculation
Devastating blow: It comes just over a year after Rylan was forced to cancel all his work commitments after he suffered a breakdown when his marriage to husband Dan Neal ended
Keep dancing: Rylan fronted It Takes Two for four years and was joined last series by Janette Manrara after she stepped down as a Strictly professional
Heartbreak: The presenter was hospitalised in the wake of his split from husband Dan, after his weight plummeted to just nine stone (pictured 2017)
Rylan replied: ‘Ur jumping sadly’ (sic).
AJ – who reached the final in Strictly’s 2021 series – is the clear favourite to take over at 4/1, while main show hosts Claudia Winkleman and Zoe Ball follow next at 8/1.
Former dancer Anton Du Beke, Bruno Tonioli and Emma Willis are all 10/1 to replace Rylan, according to BettingSites.co.uk.
Wildcard shouts include Alison Hammond at 20/1 and Shirley Ballas at 33/1
It was confirmed during the Love Island final in August Big Brother would have a new home on ITV2 and streaming service ITVX.
Now a date for later this autumns has been confirmed for the civilian edition of the programme, which last aired on Channel 5 in 2018.
While it was originally tipped to air in March, the programme has been delayed due to the number of entertainment shows airing on ITV at the start of 2023, such as winter Love Island and the All Stars edition of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!.
A host for the show hasn’t been announced, with many wanting Rylan to be the face on the newly-formatted reality show after he presented Big Brother’s Bit On The Side from 2013 – 2018.
Rylan joined Strictly It Takes Two in 2019 and presented it alongside Zoe Ball, before the BBC radio host stepped down and was replaced with Janette Manrara.
Last year, Rylan detailed how his mental health struggles ‘hit him like a baseball bat’ after he was forced to take a break from his work commitments last year.
The presenter was hospitalised in the wake of his split from husband Dan, admitting at the time he felt he’d become ‘a danger to himself’ after his weight plummeted to just nine stone.
A host of Rylan’s celebrity pals took to the comment section to share their support over his decision, but say he will be sorely missed
Now, speaking on his Ry-Union podcast, the star admitted it was ‘really really hard’ to deal with his mental health battles after he and Dan split in June.
He said: ‘I’ve never in my life thought that I would go through a crisis like that.
‘But I did, ultimately, and it literally hit me round the face like a baseball bat, because I always thought I was too strong for it.
‘Like, I’m never going to let anything like that happen to me, but then it does and it’s really, really hard to deal with.’
Rylan had been married to husband Dan for six years before they split in June 2021, with the star taking a four-month break from his TV and radio work to cope with the fallout.
Last year Rylan told The Observer it was ‘for safety reasons’ he was hospitalised after he refused to eat.
He said: ‘It’s really strange talking about this, because I’ve not even spoken about it to my friends. I just never thought I could get that ill.
‘I went down to just over 9st and I’m 6ft 4in. It got bad. Like, very bad. And I didn’t think it would get better. I needed help.’
The former X Factor contestant confessed he ‘did not know himself at certain points’ and was ‘having thoughts and doing things that made him f****d up’.
Favourite: A host for the show hasn’t been announced, with many wanting Rylan to be the face on the reality show after he presented Big Brother’s Bit On The Side from 2013 – 2018
He continued: ‘I didn’t think I’d be here. I didn’t think I could continue [to work or to live]. I didn’t think I’d actually come back. I was very… gone.’
Rylan admitted in an interview with The Sun that he became ‘dangerously thin’ and ‘mentally unwell’ following his split from husband Dan Neal last year.
And, while Rylan admits life was ‘s**t’ after the break-up, he has since bounced back, concentrating on his health and diet while buffing up in the gym, putting on four stone.
He said: ‘I got ill and I lost weight, I went down to under ten stone — and I’m six feet four inches, so that’s not good. The honest truth is that it’s been s**t.’
Rylan and his ex Dan met when Dan was a housemate on series 14 of Big Brother in 2013, with Rylan hosting spin-off show Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.
The former couple wed in November 2015 after Dan asked Rylan to marry him in Paris.
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