Holly Willoughby is said to be in the running for a new job with the BBC (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Holly Willoughby could be in line for a big new BBC role after leaving This Morning last month.
The 42-year-old presenter quit the ITV daytime show a few weeks ago but there are already reports regarding her next big job.
It’s said the BBC are keen for her reunite with former Take Off co-star Bradley Walsh as a host on Gladiators.
The iconic 1990s game show is coming to the Beeb early next year with a second season to follow, and bosses are keen to get her on board with Bradley, 63, and his 35-year-old son Barney.
An insider told The Sun: ‘The BBC love Brad and Barney, but it’s also been proved Brad and Holly have an amazing dynamic as they featured together on the Beeb show Take Off.
‘Since Holly’s departure from This Morning, lots of channels and broadcasters have been thinking about what she could bring to their shows.
Holly worked with Bradley Walsh on Take Off (Picture: BBC/Hungry Bear/Guy Levy/Matt Burlem)
Bradley and his son Barney are fronting the new Gladiators (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)
‘And as she’s such a big star, she’s a natural fit for a huge entertainment show, which the reboot of Gladiators unquestionably is.’
Holly is no stranger to the BBC, having worked on CBBC early in her career before hosting Take Off with Bradley and teaming with Lee Mack on Freeze the Fear.
Late last year there were reports that the BBC were keen to bring her in, although bosses are happy to ‘let the dust settle’ before starting discussions about bringing her in as the new Ulrika Jonsson, who fronted the original Gladiators on ITV between 1992 and 2000.
Ulrika Jonsson hosted the original series (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
The source added: ‘The Beeb will let the dust settle on her This Morning exit, and for the first series to run, before kicking off talks. But she’s an obvious choice to become the new Ulrika.’
She said in a statement on Instagram in October that it was a ‘difficult goodbye’ to This Morning, but she had made the decision for herself and her family.
Thanking her co-stars and viewers, she also wrote: ‘To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so so much. This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we’ve done together. Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive. To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you.
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‘Most of all, thank you to the wonderful viewers. You’ve been so loyal, so supportive and the very best company every day.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted BBC and Holly’s reps for comment.
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She could be reuniting with Bradley Walsh.
