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Josh Widdicombe has spoken out about an incident he had during a recent flight back to the UK from Greece, during which he accidentally committed a faux pas that annoyed a pair of fellow passengers for the rest of the flight.
The comedian, 43, who is set to make his hosting debut alongside co-hosts Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, said he had been queuing for the toilet on the plane when the incident occurred.
Speaking on his podcast with Rob Beckett, Parenting Hell, Widdicombe explained: “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.
Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe host their popular podcast, Parenting HellHandout“I looked down and my shoe was undone, so I put it up on the corner of the seat,” he continued.
However, this very action was what started the chain of events. The woman who was sat at the end of the row pointed out that the seat on which Widdicombe had placed his foot was her husband’s.
“So I was like, ‘Fine,’ and put it down,” he continued, adding that he apologised to the woman but she made it clear that she “doesn’t accept the apology” and “tries to continue the telling-off”.
Shortly after, her husband returned from the bathroom and Widdicombe rejoined the queue - but it didn’t end there.
“I turned and queued up. The guy comes out. He whacks me in the back as he goes past me,” he said, adding that the man had come back up the aisle so he could get napkins to wipe 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.”
The air steward went to check on the irate passenger and upon his return, it appeared clear that he was on Widdicombe’s side.
“[The air steward is] 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,” Widdicombe recalled triumphantly.
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“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.’”
But the couple continued to be unhappy about the incident and Widdicombe described how the woman was “still staring” at him once he left the toilet and even “cranes her neck over her seat to kind of evil me” as he walked down the aisle back to his own seat.
An hour into the flight, Widdicombe said he overheard two air stewards having a conversation and one of them said the man was “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.”
Widdicombe was recently spotted wrangling with a giant inflatable ball in the streets of Canterbury while filming a new comedy show, Let’s Play Ball.
He was joined by rugby player and Celebrity Traitors’ star Joe Marler and fellow comedian Harriet Kemsley as they tackled the task.
Last month, it was announced that Widdicombe, Willis and Radebe will host Strictly Come Dancing as a trio in a first for the flagship entertainment programme.
The new line-up will take over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who announced their departure from the programme in October 2025.
Following the announcement, Widdicombe said: “I am giddy with excitement, honoured and a little overawed to be given the chance to step into the biggest shoes in television.
“I adore Emma and Jojo and can’t wait to spend my weekends with them. I’ll dust off the penguin costume.”