Angela Rippon — Strictly Come Dancing’s oldest ever contestant — is interested in presenting the BBC flagship show, reports claim.
The veteran broadcaster dazzled viewers with her jaw-dropping high kick when she was a competitor in 2023. She was the eighth celebrity to be eliminated, getting the boot in Blackpool after she and pro partner Kai Widdrington performed American Smooth to Tea For Two by Ella Fitzgerald.
But the former newsreader, who presented the original Come Dancing series between 1988 and 1991, has thrown her hat into the ring to host the much-loved revamp. Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are both leaving after the current season, which will reach its finale next month.
Angela, 81, responded, “If they asked me, of course, if I did,” when asked about stepping into either of their shoes. It has a lot of viewers. No job is for life without a job, but Claudia and Tess did a fantastic job.
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The shock move would come more than three decades after the BBC’s then-director-general, Lord (John) Birt, told Angela she’d “had her day” when she was a spring chicken aged 50. The Daily Mail says, though, the journalist — who has more than 60 years of experience in broadcasting — would excite fans of the flagship programme.
Angela said the next host must be “someone who will bring the glamour, and that’s what everyone loves about Strictly,” at the Starry Night Gala this week to support the charity Action for Children at The Peninsula London. She entered it in 2023 at the age of 79, becoming the oldest contestant to do so.
Angela, the daughter of a Royal Marine, has worked in the media for a long time, most recently hosting Holiday Hit Squad with Helen Skelton and Joe Crowley, both of whom she was Top Gear presenter in the 1970s.
One source claimed that when she was offered to participate in Strictly two years ago, “She is the dream signing.” Many people will remember her from her days as host of the show in its previous incarnation, and the audience will love her.
The broadcaster, who is originally from Plymouth, Devon, has maintained a close relationship with her Strictly partner, Kai, 30, and they recently collaborated on “Let’s Dance”!, a project that aims to inspire people of all ages to experience the joy of dancing.
Two years after the country’s most notorious drug lord was found by the Lebanese army due to his alleged involvement with narcotics rings in Syria, he was given a two-year suspension by the US.
The Lebanese army confirmed to the Reuters news agency that a citizen with the initials “NZ” had been detained in a post on X on Thursday, and three security sources confirmed to the news agency that Noah Zaitar was the subject of the incident.
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Security forces in Baalbek, in eastern Baalbek-Hermel governorate, detained Zaitar following a “series of precise security surveillance and monitoring operations,” according to the Lebanese military.
According to the military, “the detainee is one of the most dangerous wanted individuals, pursuant to a large number of arrest warrants,” for crimes involving the establishment of gangs in various Lebanese regions engaged in drug and arms trafficking, narcotics manufacturing, and robbery and theft by force of weapons.
He had previously opened fire on military installations, citizens’ homes, and kidnapped people for cash as a result. Under the supervision of the competent judiciary, the investigation has already begun with the detainee,” it continued.
In Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley region close to the Syrian border, Zaitar allegedly ran a drug empire that produced and exported drugs, including the synthetic stimulant captagon.
Zaitar was given a life sentence in 2024 for killing a Lebanese soldier after avoiding arrest for years while residing in his hometown of Kneisseh , surrounded by armed supporters.
He was also named in US Department of State sanctions against Bashar al-Assad’s ousted regime and those connected to his lucrative captagon trafficking network in 2023.
Zaitar, according to the State Department, had close ties to the Fourth Division of the Syrian Arab Army, an elite unit that was once a key player in the captagon trade, and was a “known arms dealer and drug smuggler.”
Zaitar is also wanted for “materially supporting, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services” to Hezbollah, according to the statement.
Zaitar’s arrest comes as part of a country-wide crackdown on drug traffickers, which is currently being carried out by Lebanon’s authorities.
The Lebanese military claimed that two soldiers were killed on Tuesday in clashes in Baalbek as they pursued fugitive drug traffickers in a separate post on X on Wednesday.
تنعى قيادة الجيش ـــ مديرية التوجيه، المعاون الأول الشهيد بلال البرادعي والعريف الشهيد علي حيدر اللذين استشهدا بتاریخ ١٨ /١١ /٢٠٢٥ نتيجة اشتباكات مع مطلوبين أثناء تنفيذ مديرية المخابرات سلسلة عمليات دهم بمؤازرة وحدة من الجيش في منطقة الشراونة – بعلبك.
وفي ما يلي نبذة عن حياة كل… pic. twitter.com/aIw9IjiuYi
The first assistant Martyr Bilal al-Baradi and Corporal Martyr Ali Haidar were killed on April 11, 1920 when an Army unit carried out a series of raids supported by an Army unit in the al-Sharawna area – Baalbek.  ,
Another Lebanese citizen, identified by the local news outlet Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International as Hassouneh Jaafar, was shot and killed after opening fire on Lebanese security forces during that raid, according to the military.
The fugitive was wanted in connection with drug trafficking, armed robbery, kidnapping, and the murder of four soldiers.
McLaren’s title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri struggled in first practice at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace.
Norris and Piastri ended the session on a dusty track in sixth and eighth places after a series of off-track moments.
Norris was 0.456 seconds slower than Leclerc, who headed Williams’ Alex Albon by 0.166secs.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz was fifth, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took seventh with his final lap of the session. Mercedes’ George Russell was ninth, ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Norris took to the escape road at Turn 14 at the end of Las Vegas’ famous Strip twice on consecutive laps as he fought to find pace in his McLaren.
He also hit the wall early in the session, although he escaped without damaging the car.
Piastri, 24 points behind the Briton at the head of the championship, had his off-track moment at Turns Eight and Nine around the Sphere.
The Australian was 0.192secs slower than Norris, continuing the performance trend between the two in most recent races.
Norris has gained 58 points on Piastri in the past six races, to take control of the season and put himself within sniffing distance of the championship.
Leclerc was quick all session, but Hamilton ended up 0.759secs behind his team-mate.
The session is unlikely to be representative of the rest of the weekend as the track is so dirty and will improve as the sessions tick by.
McLaren’s title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri struggled in first practice at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace.
Norris and Piastri ended the session on a dusty track in sixth and eighth places after a series of off-track moments.
Norris was 0.456 seconds slower than Leclerc, who headed Williams’ Alex Albon by 0.166secs.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz was fifth, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took seventh with his final lap of the session. Mercedes’ George Russell was ninth, ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Norris took to the escape road at Turn 14 at the end of Las Vegas’ famous Strip twice on consecutive laps as he fought to find pace in his McLaren.
He also hit the wall early in the session, although he escaped without damaging the car.
Piastri, 24 points behind the Briton at the head of the championship, had his off-track moment at Turns Eight and Nine around the Sphere.
The Australian was 0.192secs slower than Norris, continuing the performance trend between the two in most recent races.
Norris has gained 58 points on Piastri in the past six races, to take control of the season and put himself within sniffing distance of the championship.
Leclerc was quick all session, but Hamilton ended up 0.759secs behind his team-mate.
The session is unlikely to be representative of the rest of the weekend as the track is so dirty and will improve as the sessions tick by.