Former Strictly Come Dancing star Dan Walker has been replaced as the host of The NFL Show after coverage of the American sport moved from the BBC to its rival broadcaster ITV.
Walker will be replaced by Sky Sports presenter Laura Woods, who is heading up the American sports show alongside current hosts Osi Umenyiora and fellow former Strictly star Jason Bell, who is making the move over from the BBC.
Responding to the news, Walker tweeted: “You may have seen the news about the NFL Show moving to ITV. It was always one of my favorite shows to do.”
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The presenter also had nothing but praise for his now former co-stars, saying they would continue to be great on the show.
“I loved [every] second spent with [Umenyiora and Bell] in & out of the studio,” he wrote. “We’ll stay great friends & we’re proud of the awards the show won, the record viewing figures & stacks of lovely messages we got every week from the loyal NFL fans all over the UK.”
He finished his statement by wishing Woods well in the role, adding: “It will only get better with her at the helm.”
Woods had previously been at Sky Sports for over a decade, as well as working as a radio host on TalkSport and presenting ITV’s coverage of women’s football since 2021.
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The BBC had been the go-to for American football in the UK for the past seven years, before ITV negotiated a three-year deal to bring the show over to the network.
ITV’s coverage of the NFL will begin on September 9, which marks the first day of the 2022/2023 season.
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