Rylan Clark said he wants to “sit indoors in his pyjamas for a bit” after quitting as a presenter of Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.
The 34-year-old TV personality announced on Wednesday along with the BBC that he would step down from the spin-off of the celebrity dance show after four years.
Clark told his Radio 2 show Rylan On Saturday: “So I just want to say publicly to all the Strictly family, I love you dearly for the last four years.”
He added: “Can I just confirm please as well, I’m seeing all the rumours. Please carry on with your rumours, I ain’t going anywhere darling.
“It was just my time to say thank you and you know, go, and I don’t know, sit indoors in my pyjamas for a bit.”
Clark will continue to provide the BBC’s commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest this May as well as doing his Radio 2 show, the BBC said.
He also thanked former long-time It Takes Two presenter Zoe Ball and professional dancer Janette Manrara – who took over from her in 2021 – along with Strictly presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Clark added: “It’s just been amazing, It’s just been so lovely and I love everyone well… So now I’ve got the certificate, I thought oh I might as well go now.”
The BBC said the series will announce a new presenter in due course as executive producer of the Strictly spin-off series, Eve Winstanley, said the team will miss the presenter’s “boundless energy and love for entertaining viewers”.
Clark rose to fame on reality singing competition The X Factor back in 2012 and after winning Celebrity Big Brother the following year, he became a presenter.
He hosted Big Brother’s Bit On The Side and then went on to present ITV’s Supermarket Sweep, BBC’s Ready Steady Cook and star in Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox along with his mother.
Rylan earlier said he is stepping down from presenting Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two to “pass on the baton to someone else and explore what else life has for me”.
Clark originally joined the series to host with long-time presenter Zoe Ball before professional dancer Janette Manrara joined in 2021.
In a statement on Instagram, Clark wrote: “I’ve had the best time hosting the show alongside Janette and Zoe and I can’t thank the amazing team enough for always putting on a great show.
“I’ve been welcomed into the Strictly family and will firmly hold that title dear to me. The time has come for me to pass on the baton to someone else and explore what else life has for me.
“Thank you Strictly, you will always have my heart… and dancing feet.”
Under the post, Strictly professional dancers Nancy Xu Xi, Johannes Radebe and Tyler West sent their “love” to Clark along with the celebrity dancing show’s presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Kate Phillips, director of unscripted at the BBC, said she wanted to thank Clark on behalf of fans for “entertaining audiences so brilliantly for the past four years”.
She added: “Rylan’s infectious personality, his stand-out sass and his genuine love for all the glitz and glamour of the ballroom have been a big part of It Takes Two’s continued success.
“Rylan will always be part of the Strictly family of course, but I know he’ll be hugely missed by all the Strictly It Takes Two viewers, Janette and everyone else who works on the show.”
Beginning as a contestant on the singing competition X Factor back in 2012, Clark went on to win Celebrity Big Brother the following year which launched him further into the public eye as he went on to host Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.
Since then he has presented various shows including ITV’s This Morning, Supermarket Sweep and The Xtra Factor Live, the BBC’s The One Show and Ready Steady Cook and Channel 5’s Celebrity Ghost Hunt, along with starring in Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox with his mother.
He also had appearances acting in 2016 comedy film Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and The Keith Lemon Sketch Show and will also star in an upcoming Eurovision-themed episode of Radio 4 soap The Archers.
His presenting work on the BBC has also seen him taking part in charity challenges including a hike for this year’s Red Nose Day to reach the summit of the snow-capped Cairngorm mountain in Scotland over three days and singing non-stop karaoke for 24 hours for Children In Need 2019.
Eve Winstanley, executive producer of the Strictly spin-off series, said: “It has been so much fun working with Rylan.
“Myself and the It Takes Two team will miss his boundless energy and love for entertaining viewers.
“We’d like to thank him for being a huge sparkling part of the Strictly family for the last four years.”
Clark revealed in 2021 that he had separated from his husband, ex-police officer and former Big Brother contestant Dan Neal, who he married in 2015.
