Dermot O’Leary has poured cold water on feverish speculation that he’s poised to waltz into the glittering void left by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on Strictly Come Dancing, delivering a dramatic on-camera “Deny!” that had Irish chat show hosts in stitches and BBC insiders chuckling. The 52-year-old This Morning staple, a veteran of ITV’s cutthroat talent wars, quipped that stepping onto the BBC’s dancefloor darling would unleash the wrath of his old boss Simon Cowell – a feud fiercer than any paso doble.

Appearing on Ireland’s The Six O’Clock Show with hosts Brian Dowling and Katja Mia Tuesday night, O’Leary was cornered over the hottest rumor in telly town: With Daly and Winkleman bowing out after helming the sequin-soaked staple for two decades – Daly since its 2004 launch, Winkleman since 2014 – could the silver-throated Irishman be the one to steady the showboat? Bookies had slashed his odds to 5/1 in the wake of the duo’s emotional October exit announcement, citing his charm offensive on BBC Radio 2 and a knack for wrangling celebrities without breaking a sweat.

But O’Leary, ever the showman, pivoted with theatrical flair. When Dowling pressed if BBC brass had come knocking, the host whipped around to the camera, eyes wide in mock horror: “Deny.” He likened the hypothetical jump to “Julia Roberts in Sleeping With The Enemy,” a nod to the ’90s thriller where betrayal spells doom. Dowling, sensing the drama, fired back: “Simon Cowell would not allow that!” O’Leary didn’t miss a beat: “Even though the show’s not on TV anymore, he’d still hunt me down!” The studio dissolved into laughter, with Mia dubbing it “the ultimate crossover catastrophe.”

The quip lands with extra bite given O’Leary’s tangled telly tapestry. He fronted The X Factor – Strictly‘s Saturday night nemesis – from 2008 to 2014, helming the Simon Cowell juggernaut through its vocal-vampire peak before Olly Murs and Caroline Flack edged him out in 2015. Undeterred, he reclaimed the mic in 2016, bowing out only when ITV axed the format in 2018 amid slumping ratings and #MeToo reckonings. “I loved that chaos,” O’Leary reflected in a 2023 Radio Times chat, crediting it for honing his “herding cats” skills – a transferable talent that’s seen him thrive on BBC’s This Morning Fridays (alongside the effervescent Alison Hammond) and his Saturday slot on Radio 2 since 2004.

Strictly‘s seismic shift – the longest-serving duo’s farewell after 21 years for Daly – has sparked a feeding frenzy for replacements. Industry whispers, funneled through former BBC One controller Peter Fincham, tip Holly Willoughby as a frontrunner: The Dancing on Ice darling, 44, could reunite with Bradley Walsh in a nod to their scrapped 2019 pilot Take Off With Holly & Bradley (shelved by COVID) and 2015’s Play To The Whistle. Walsh, 65 and a triple-threat with The Chase and the rebooted Gladiators, is “in positive talks,” per sources, potentially paired with The One Show‘s Alex Jones – a 15-year veteran and self-confessed Strictly superfan who’s “gagging for it.” Comedian Alan Carr, fresh off Celebrity Traitors‘ triumph, rounds out the shortlist, his campy flair a potential antidote to the show’s recent scandals (Giovanni Pernice’s probe, Anton Du Beke’s exit).

O’Leary’s denial feels genuine – and strategic. “I’m flattered, truly,” he told Dowling off-air, per a production insider, “but This Morning and Radio 2 are my happy place. Besides, who’d want Cowell’s hit squad on speed dial?” His ITV roots run deep; jumping ship could torch bridges, especially with Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent empire still a ratings behemoth. Yet fans pine for it: A viral X poll post-interview showed 68% rooting for Dermot to don the tux, with one user tweeting: “#DermotForStrictly – he’d charm the glitter off the floor!”

The Strictly saga underscores a BBC crossroads: Post-Pernice fallout and viewer dips (from 12 million peak to 7.5 million this series), producers crave stability. Daly’s MBE investiture last week – where she gushed over Queen Camilla’s fandom – was a tearful swan song, while Winkleman’s MBE nod hinted at her pivot to Netflix’s The Traitors U.S. spin-off. “It’s time for fresh sequins,” Winkleman quipped at the NTAs. O’Leary, for his part, teased future BBC gigs – a potential Who Do You Think You Are? sequel tracing his Irish roots – but danced around Strictly: “Let’s just say, if I did, it’d be the mother of all crossovers.”

Social media lit up post-broadcast, #DenyDermot trending in the UK with memes of O’Leary fleeing a Cowell-shaped shadow. “Simon hunting him down like a bad audition? Gold,” one fan posted, racking 20,000 likes. Pundits like The Guardian‘s Jack Seale see it as savvy: “Dermot’s playing the long game – loyal to ITV, teasing BBC without committing. Classic hostcraft.”

For O’Leary, 52 and at career zenith – fresh off a This Morning ratings bump with Hammond – the buzz is validation. “I’ve hosted everything from boy bands to bake-offs,” he laughed on The Six O’Clock Show. “But Strictly? That’s a whole other rhythm.” As auditions loom for 2026’s hosts, one thing’s clear: Whether it’s Holly’s poise, Bradley’s banter, or Alan’s antics, the Glitterball’s next twirl promises fireworks. O’Leary? He’ll be watching from the wings – mic in hand, denial on lips.