Josh Widdicombe is just months away from making his hosting debut on Strictly Come Dancing, however he’s already lost one potential viewer after being confronted over a plane seat by a disgruntled passenger.
The comedian, 43, has revealed that he was “whacked in the back” by a fellow plane passenger on a flight back from Greece after putting his foot on his seat.
Speaking on his Parenting Hell podcast with Rob Beckett, Widdicombe said the incident occurred while he was queuing for the plane toilet.
“You know the front seats? There was someone on the window seat and then there were two empty seats, so I perched on the arm of the end empty seat. I looked down and my shoe was undone, so I put it up on the corner of the seat,” he said.
“The woman at the end said, ‘Excuse me, that’s my husband’s seat.’ So I was like, ‘Fine,’ and put it down.”
Widdicombe added that he apologised to the woman, but she “doesn’t accept the apology” and “tries to continue the telling-off”.
It was at that point that her husband – whose seat they were arguing over – returned from the bathroom, with Widdicombe saying that he had the intimidating build of Stranger Things star David Harbour.
“I turned and queued up. The guy comes out. He whacks me in the back as he goes past me,” he continued, clarifying that the man did so to get napkins to wipe down his seat. “He goes and sits down and you know like Richard Ashcroft in that ‘Urban Hymns’ video, like a footballer off the ball, he goes past me and goes, ‘Did you put your foot on my seat?’ He barged into me to get napkins to wipe down his seat.
“I said, ‘I said, sorry. It’s all I can do.’ He won’t accept it. He sits down with his napkins.”
Thankfully for Widdicombe, the air steward took his side in the matter. “The air steward obviously has to go over and check he’s alright and then the air steward comes back and he’s like, ‘God, there’s one on every flight isn’t there?’ I obviously think, ‘This is my chance to dig in.’ I start laughing away with the air steward in full view. I really go for it with the charming chat,” recalled Widdicombe, laughing. “Also, at that point a woman comes up to say she’s a fan of me, absolutely perfect timing. I was like, ‘This is glorious.’”
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The couple wouldn’t drop the matter however, with Widdicombe adding that the woman was “still staring” at him when he left the toilet. “Even as I walk down the aisle, she cranes her neck over her seat to kind of evil me. I’ve said sorry at this point,” he said.
“An hour later, I hear two air stewards talking and one of them goes, ‘He’s still cleaning his seat with the napkin.’ Everyone goes, ‘It’s been an hour!’ It’s mad. Obviously he might be germaphobic or OCD – so let’s be honest, an air conditioned plane with 200 people is not ideal. It was so weird.”
While the comedian feared that he may be physically confronted by the indignant passenger upon landing, Widdicombe saw him and his wife dash off the aircraft as soon as the doors opened.
It’s set to be a busy autumn for Widdicombe, who is one of three new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing – with the comic joining Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe. The trio are replacing Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, who announced last year that they would be stepping down after over a decade on the show.
“I am giddy with excitement, honoured and a little overawed to be given the chance to step into the biggest shoes in television,” he said when his role was announced, having previously competed in the 2024 Christmas Special. “I adore Emma and Jojo and can’t wait to spend my weekends with them. I’ll dust off the penguin costume.”
EastEnders star Lacey Turner and hair stylist to the stars Christ Appleton are among the celebrity contestants to be joining this year’s season. See the line-up so far here.
