Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have confirmed they are leaving Strictly Come Dancing.
The pair have co-hosted Strictly Come Dancing together since 2014. Dalt has presented the show since its very first episode alongside Sir Bruce Forsyth whilst Winkleman originally presented Strictly: It Takes Two before moving over to host the results show alongside Tess in 2010.
They were the first all-female duo to host a primetime entertainment programme on British TV.
Kate Phillips, Chief Content Officer for the BBC said: “I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but it’s the end of an era with Tess and Claudia’s decision to bid farewell to the Strictly ballroom. They’ve both been such incredible hosts at the very heart of the show, their passion and dedication has gone above and beyond. They’ve been integral to Strictly’s success over the last 20 years, but I understand why they’ve decided it’s time to hang up the glitter ball and get their weekends back. As Craig would say they are fab-u-lous presenters, and they are fab-u-lous friends to me and so many others at the BBC. Thank you Tess and Claud for everything, we will miss you hugely.”
Suzy Lamb, Managing Director, Entertainment, BBC Studios said: “On behalf of the entire production team at Strictly, we are so going to miss Tess and Claudia. Tess brought elegance, poise, and a genuine love for the show that never waned from the very start. And with Claudia’s charm and razor-sharp wit joining us from It Takes Two in 2014 – it cemented a partnership that has kept our audience captivated ever since. Tess and Claudia are much more than presenters to us – they are part of the Strictly production family – and whilst we’ll miss them dearly, we wish them nothing but the best.”
Sarah James, Executive Producer, Strictly Come Dancing said: “Tess and Claudia are quite simply the best duo of presenters in the business and we are so lucky to have had them as our Strictly anchors for so many years. They have championed countless celebrities on the dancefloor, led us all through two series during the pandemic but more importantly they have a deep and genuine bond with the show and every single member of the team. The Strictly Family is often referred to and these women are the matriarchs of that family. We have been together and supported each other for a long time – through pregnancies, births and deaths and to say we will all miss them terribly is an understatement.”
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show. They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
They will leave Strictly Come Dancing at the end of the current series and their last appearance together on screen will be on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special which will air on Christmas Day on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Plans for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course.
Pippa Considine
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