It’s been a huge 15 years since Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman hosted their first-ever series of Strictly Come Dancing together.
And since then, the pair have become one of the UK’s beloved telly duos. However, much to the heartbreak of plenty of fans, this year’s series is going to be their last…
Tess and Claud announced the devastating news back in October that they would be stepping down as hosts following this year’s series. The presenting duo said it “feels the right time” to walk away from the BBC One dancing competition in their announcement.
So, with their last live episode airing today (December 20) for the show’s final, ED! is taking a look back at their friendship.
When did Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman meet?
Tess first started presenting on Strictly in 2004 alongside the late great Sir Bruce Forsyth. Claudia, meanwhile, joined the Strictly family in 2004 too, presenting spin-off series, It Takes Two. She then became co-host with Tess in 2010.
And according to Tess, she met Claudia for the first time years before they started hosting Strictly Come Dancing together.
“We met in our local chemists about 11 years ago,” Tess told Radio Times in 2015. She added: “It was her first trip out with her new baby Jake and she was struggling to negotiate the buggy. I held the door for her and we had a little chat.”
As for Claudia, she has a different memory of their meeting. She previously said: “It must have been on It Takes Two a hundred years ago.
“Tess had just had her little girl Phoebe and we started talking about our kids straight away – Tess is so in love with her children! And so beautiful!”
Tess and Claudia on ‘feud’ rumours
Over the years, there have been several rumours that Tess and Claudia don’t like each – something that they have both shut down. However, in 2010, journalist Jane Graham made a bombshell claim, implying their body language revealed the “great hate” simmering beneath the surface.
“I wasn’t in the least bit surprised to read this week that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman – co-hosts on the now-Bruceless Sunday edition of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing – secretly despise each other,” Jane said in the Belfast Telegraph.
Nonetheless, Tess and Claudia have often championed their friendship. Talking to The Observer in 2021, Claudia spoke about Tess.
“We have such a laugh and we have each other’s backs. We mainly talk about parenting and cheese, even with five seconds before we go live. I love that woman,” she gushed.
Tess on Claudia ‘making her cry’
Earlier this year, ahead of the Strictly series starting, Tess told the BBC that Claudia makes her “cry her mascara off” behind the scenes. During the chat, Tess was asked what she’d learned from working alongside Claudia for so long.
“Claude and I have worked together for so many years now that we have watched each other’s children grow into young adults,” she said.
“Working with her is an absolute joy. What has she taught me? That I should never wear mascara to our script meetings because she has me laughing so much I end up crying it all off,” she then added.
The Strictly Come Dancing final airs on Saturday (December 20) at 7:00pm on BBC One.
Read more: Vernon Kay ‘names’ Tess Daly’s Strictly replacement in furious radio rant: ‘There you go – done!’
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