There are a number of names said to being lined-up to take over fronting the hit BBC One dance show
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly fronting Strictly Come Dancing(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA)
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will be telling viewers to ‘keep dancing’ for the final time this weekend as they bow out as hosts of Strictly Come Dancing after more than a decade at the helm together.
Tess has been at the helm of the popular BBC One dance progamme since it began back in 2004, first hosting alongside the legendary Sir Bruce Forsyth. It was then in 2014 that she began co-hosting the beloved programme alongside Claudia, who had previously hosted Strictly’s spin-off, It Takes Two, after her late colleague and friend decided to step down from presenting duties.
But after 11 years fronting the beloved show, Tess, 56, and Claudia, 53, caused shockwaves as they announced in October that they would be leaving Strictly at the end of the current series, which is on Saturday night (December 20).
In their joint statement, they 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.”
Tess and Claudia confirmed their plan to leave together earlier in the 2025 series(Image: BBC)
Talk quickly turned to who could take over one of the biggest shows in the country, with it recently reported there were a 10-strong list of showbiz contenders to step into Tess and Claudia’s roles. Those named in the report were:
Bradley WalshAlex JonesAlan CarrRylan ClarkRob RinderZoe BallHolly WilloughbyAmanda HoldenAlison HammondAngela Scanlon
But, towards the end of November, the BBC’s Chief Content Officer, have an update on finding new Strictly hosts, as she revealed how Tess and Claudia were concerned the news of their exit would leak before they could announce it themselves, hence why they shared the news mid-way through the 2025 series.
As she appeared on The Rest is Entertainment podcast with hosts, TV presenter Richard Osman and journalist Marina Hyde, Kate Phillips said: “That was very much Tess and Claudia’s decision And, and they did ring me to sort of tell me what they were thinking, but I think they were worried it was going to leak. So which we often have. So they wanted to very much announce it on their own terms. But you know, they are brilliant, brilliant hosts of that show and they have sparkly high heels that are going to be hard to fill definitely.”
Asked if the process has started into finding their replacements, Kate shared: “Well, the production team, BBC Studios… they are now concentrating on getting two shows out a week. So we haven’t got time at the moment to start doing any screen tests or chemistry testing.
“So we’ve got time. So we I don’t think we’ll really be looking at it until the new year because we want to make sure that we deliver a great Strictly series Having said that, yes, my inbox has been inundated. So I mean, I can’t say names obviously yes, but but it is one of the best gigs in television.
“So we have had so many people who are keen to be considered, which is great and we’ll think carefully about next steps on it. But yes, there’s no, there’s no sort of room where we all go. They literally told me and then it’s a series… Then it’s about the press teams linking up with studios, press team with Claude and Tess’ teams and making sure that we’re all sort of aligned on how it’s being announced and everything.”