Strictly's Janette Manrara says she 'sobbed for a week' and was left 'devastated' after missing out on presenter job

Janette Manrara said losing out on the Strictly's presenter job 'was a really hard pill to swallow' after spending 13 years of her career on the BBC show.

The professional dancer, who competed on Strictly for eight years before becoming the host of companion show It Takes Two, auditioned for the role of the main show's host earlier this year.

She lost out on the job, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, another former Strictly pro, taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for the new series.

Janette, 42, has called it 'the biggest rejection of my career', admitting she 'sobbed for a week' after hearing it was a no.

Speaking to Jamie Laing on the Great Company podcast, she explained she was feeling very optimistic after going through the lengthy audition process: 'I was in the chemistry tests and I did really well in the chemistry tests. At least that's what I was told. So I assumed I did a great job.'

After bosses called her agent to deliver the news Janette said 'I remember coming home and it was a really hard pill to swallow... I sobbed for a week. I'm not going to even begin to lie. I was devastated.'

She said she assumed with her years of experience on the show both as a dancer and as a presenter she 'was a front runner'.

'I went from being a professional dancer for eight years on the show,' Janette pointed out. 'Then I became the host of It Takes Two for five years and at the same time hosted the Strictly Live tour for 5 years. And in the Strictly Live Tour, I play both Tess and Claudia with all the judges and the couples.'

'So when you just put it on paper, you assume, okay, I've got a shot because all the pieces were there.'

She told Jamie that she received little feedback from Strictly bosses after the audition, recalling how she called them and 'they were just there for me. Ultimately they said, "You were brilliant. We loved you. I can't tell you why".''

What did help her come to terms with the rejection was talking with other celebs who missed out on the job, most notably fellow It Takes Two hosts Zoe Ball and Fleur East, who have also spoken out on their failed auditions.  

'We've been speaking a lot and we all feel like we've gone through the seven stages of grief,' Janette said. 'But ultimately I have to understand I'm in an industry that is very very fickle.'

Janette also noted she was proud of herself for competing against major names in British telly.  

'I was putting myself in a room against names like Emma Willis, Rylan Clark, Zoe Ball, like all of them that you've seen that have spoken out about being in the chemistry test. I was one of them,' she admitted.

'So, if I can take anything away from it, it's not that I didn't get the job. What I am taking away from it is that actually I've done a bloody good job in the last seven years with honing my craft of presenting and understanding the TV world and the business of how things fun. Another job will come.'

Janette has now cut ties with Strictly, after she and Fleur were replaced as the hosts of It Takes Two during the show's major overhaul this year. Ellie Taylor is the new presenter of the nightly spinoff show.

Next up for Janette is a chance to flex her acting muscles in the new play as she stars in new play Affluenza at London's Riverside Studios, alongside Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp, Bridgerton star Rupert Young, and EastEnders actor Juliet Cowan.

Janette's husband Aljaž Škorjanec is still competing on Strictly, and this year is partnered with Gavin & Stacey star Melanie Walters.

Things got off to a shaky start on Saturday's first live show with new presenting team Josh, Emma and Johannes taking the reins as viewers weren't convinced by the set-up.

And the BBC also failed to pull in as many viewers as they perhaps would have wanted, as 4.8 million tuned in – down substantially on last year's 6.2 million for the first live show.