Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will be saying goodbye at the end of the current BBC Strictly Come Dancing series
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly hosting Strictly Come Dancing(Image: PA)
Carlos Gu was left declaring ‘don’t say that’ as he was quizzed on saying goodbye to Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman at the end of the current Strictly Come Dancing series.
Those who have followed the hit dance show will know that Tess has been at the helm of the programme since the very beginning back in 2004, when she was first seen co-hosting the huge Saturday night programme alongside the legendary Sir Bruce Forsyth.
It was then in 2014 that she began co-hosting the beloved programme alongside Claudia Winkleman, who had previously hosted Strictly’s spin-off show It Takes Two, after her late colleague and friend decided to step down from presenting duties, a couple of years before his death in 2017.
But last month, Tess and Claudia confirmed that their time fronting the much-loved BBC One show was coming to an end, as they confirmed that they have decided to bow out of hosting duties at the end of the current series, currently expected to be December 20.
The news came as a shock to Strictly stars, both past and present, and fans with the BBC’s Chief Content Officer, having since revealed that the pair were concerned the news would leak before they could announce it themselves, hence why they shared the news mid-way through Strictly’s ongoing 2025 series.
She said on The Rest is Entertainment podcast: “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.”
Now, Carlos, who has been a professional dancer on the show since 2022, has been asked about how he feels knowing this year’s final will be Tess and Claudia’s last time being live in the ballroom. “Don’t say that,” he cried when talking to the Manchester Evening News.
He added: “I mean, I just love them two, and it’s going be hard, emotionally for sure, but, you know, that’s life,” with a giggle. It comes as his celebrity dance partner, Karen Carney, admitted: “I have not thought about it yet.”
Karen and Carlos taking part in the BBC One dance contest this year(Image: PA)
Tess, 56, and Claudia, 53, announced their surprise exit news on social media in a joint statement, alongside a video in which they discussed their decision. 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.”
Meanwhile, Karen was recently named among the favourites to win Strictly. But with weeks still to go until the grand final, currently set for December 20, it’s not something the sportswoman has thought about. “Honestly, I’ve never thought about that and we don’t think about that,” she told us.
“We go, I’m from football. I’ve been in many games where I think, oh, we could go and do really well and then all of a sudden you’re knocked out by set piece or something. So we’ve always just spoken about enjoying it, taking each day, not necessarily each week as it comes. And like I’ve said many times, my football career just went like that because you can just get too far ahead. And I didn’t never, ever want to do so this experience with Carla. So we just go day by day.”