Bradley Walsh has appeared to have taken himself out of the running to be the new host of Strictly Come Dancing, after announcing he's going to be on tour throughout September.

The TV presenter, 65, was said to be one of producers' favourites to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who stepped back from the show last year.

While speculation went into overdrive last month after it was alleged the actor had been for a screen test at the BBC, while filming for his quiz show, The Chase, was reportedly put on pause for 'at least a year'.

However, even without The Chase on his roster, Bradley already has an action-packed schedule, as he also hosts Gladiators, Blankety Blank and Egypt’s Cosmic Code for Sky History.

And now he has seemingly ruled himself out once and for all after announcing the autumn dates for The Prat Pack’s Back reunion tour.

Bradley will be joining pals Brian Conley, Joe Pasquale and Shane Richie onstage for 17 shows across the UK, beginning on September 2 in Edinburgh and not wrapping up until September 26, at the London Palladium.

This would likely clash with Strictly filming, with the show usually kicking off in the middle of September, and the hosts needed to be around for rehearsals, promo and pre-recorded shoots beforehand. 

'Bradley’s announcement looks to be the surest sign yet he’s not the new Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman,' a source pointed out to The Sun.

'The Prat Pack perform as a foursome so there’s no chance Bradley can be covered for clashes, and by the same token he would be needed by the BBC for most of September for pre-records and Press.

'There are just four days off on the tour. It’s unlikely it would have been unveiled this week, with tickets put on sale, if a Strictly update announcing Bradley as host was imminent.'

Strictly bosses have now confirmed the professional dancers that will be returning for the new series, after a string of stars were axed in a brutal cast cull.

In recent months Nadiya Bychkova, Karen Hauer, 43, Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, Luba Mushtuk, 36, and Gorka Marquez, 35, have all been given the boot.

But the dancers that will be back on the dancefloor later this year have now been announced, and they include Dianne Buswell, who competed on the show last year while pregnant with her first child, and gave birth to son Bowden in March.

Amy Dowden will also be back on the show, after her stint on last year's run came to an early end, when she and Thomas Skinner were the first pair to be eliminated. 

Also set to return are: Julian Caillon, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Jowita Przystał, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Alexis Warr, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Lauren Oakley and Vito Coppola.

Bosses also revealed that there will be brand new professional dancers joining the line-up in 2026, while judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Head Judge Shirley Ballas are also set to return.

Leaks about celebrity competitors normally begin to circulate around this time of year, but instead all the focus is on finding replacements for Claudia and Tess, who departed the flagship show last year.

Tess and Claudia announced they were leaving back in October but six months on there is still no confirmation of who will take over

After weeks of speculation and multiple major names turning the job down, nine shortlisted stars were summoned to a top-secret location in London to battle it out in full-scale dress rehearsals with a judging panel and live band in a bid to get the troubled show back on track. 

BBC bosses held secret auditions and chemistry tests with the celebrities and forced the stars to sign strict NDAs to keep the tryouts under wraps.

A source told The Sun: 'It's not just about reading autocue. They'll be looking at how people work together and humour is a massive part of it. There's everything to play for.'

The chosen few who were called to the final test were watched closely and bosses are hoping to make a decision soon.

Among those confirmed to be in the callbacks were Bradley, Rylan Clark, Emma Willis, Tom Allen, podcast host Angela Scanlon and One Show presenter Alex Jones.

Other stars summoned to the auditions were This Morning host Alison Hammond, RuPaul's Drag Race star La Voix and Radio 2's Zoe Ball.

A source said: 'They really want to bring the fun this year. It's all about chemistry, who clicks instantly and can keep the energy up live on air.

'They could stick with two female hosts as that's worked brilliantly. But they're also open to mixing it up.

'If Rylan and Tom Allen click, that could be a hilarious pairing. Equally, they could even introduce a third presenter to shake things up.'

Following the auditions, a source told Daily Mail's Alison Boshoff that four clear frontrunners have emerged: Angela, Rylan, Emma and Zoe.

The celebrities all tried out in various combinations; and Rylan worked well with all three of the front-running girls.

Zoe and Angela was deemed a dud, but the former Radio 2 star worked well with Emma. 

'Angela was the surprise hit – she did really well. The BBC said that this had to be all about the chemistry between the presenters and their ability to react to live comments and situations – and she shone.

'She was good with everyone except for Zoe. And Rylan was good with everyone.'