New Strictly host Josh Widdicombe has claimed a passenger “whacked” him in the back on a flight home from Greece.
He shared the story on the latest episode of the Parenting Hell podcast with fellow comic Rob Beckett.
Josh Widdicombe: career and TV credits
Josh Widdicombe is a British comedian, writer and presenter.
He became widely known through stand-up and panel show appearances.
His TV credits include The Last Leg, Mock the Week and Taskmaster.
He has also co-hosted the Parenting Hell podcast with Rob Beckett.
He appeared as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2024.
Strictly host Josh Widdicombe ‘whacked’ by furious plane passenger
Josh said the incident happened as he travelled back to the UK with his family when he was waiting for the toilet near the front of the plane.
The 43-year-old explained that he perched on the arm of a seat and noticed his shoe was undone.
He said he rested it on the corner of what he thought was an empty seat but admitted he got it wrong.
Josh said: “It was on the plane back from Greece I went up to the toilet at the front of the queue and you know the front seats, there was someone at the window seat and then there were two empty seats so I perched on the arm of the end empty seat and I looked down and my shoe was undone so I put it up on the corner of the seat, fine, I made a mistake.”
He said a woman nearby quickly corrected him, telling him the seat belonged to her husband, who was in the toilet.
He said: “The woman at the end said, ‘Excuse me, that’s my husband’s seat.’ So I was like, fine, sorry I’ve made my mistake, put my foot down.”
Josh said he apologised straight away, but he claimed the woman kept telling him off.
He added: “She doesn’t accept the apology, she tries to continue telling me off. So I kind of turned back and queued up.”
However, that did not end the exchange. Josh alleged the woman’s husband confronted him after leaving the toilet.
He said: “The guy comes out of the loo. He sits down, and then he goes past me and whacks me in the back as he goes past me.”
Josh added: “You know like Richard Ashcroft in that Urban Hymns video, like a footballer off the ball, and then he goes past me and goes, ‘Did you put your foot on my seat?’”
‘I could only apologise’
Josh claimed the man then grabbed napkins and started wiping down the seat. He said he kept apologising, but the mood only worsened.
He said: “I could only apologise what else could I do.”
Josh also claimed an air steward checked on the passenger. He said the crew member later returned with a pointed comment.
He recalled: “He sits down, and the air steward has to check he’s alright, and he comes back and is like, ‘There’s one on every flight, isn’t there?’”
Josh said the crew member then started chatting with him. He said he leaned into the moment and tried to laugh off the tension.
Josh added: “The air steward starts to confide me in, so I start to dig into this and start laughing away with the air steward, I really go for it with the charming chat with the air stewards.”
He also said a woman approached him during the flight and said she was a fan. Josh said: “At that point, a woman comes up and says she’s a fan of me, and I think, ‘This is glorious.’”
Even then, he claimed the tension lingered. He said the woman kept staring at him later when he walked down the aisle.
He added: “Then later on the flight, I go to the toilet again, and the woman is still staring at me, even as I walk down the aisle, she cranes her neck to evil me, I’ve said sorry by this point.”
Josh said the man was still cleaning the seat much later. He added: “An hour later, I hear the stewards saying, ‘He’s still cleaning the seat with his napkin,’ it’s been an hour! He might be germaphobic, I suppose.”
Strictly Come Dancing: format and host role
Strictly Come Dancing is the BBC’s celebrity ballroom competition.
Celebrity contestants are paired with professional dancers.
Couples perform weekly routines in different dance styles.
Judges score each performance and public voting helps decide results.
The programme is fronted by presenters who introduce performances and guide the live shows.
Josh said: “Honestly, at the end I was worried he was going to confront me, it was weird.”
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