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Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are to leave Strictly Come Dancing together after the latest series ends.
The popular presenting duo shared a video statement to Daly’s Instagram feed today, announcing the news to fans.
“We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream,” their statement said.
“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.”
They concluded: “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.”
Daly has hosted the show for 21 years, while Winkleman joined as co-presenter on the main show in 2014, having previously co-hosted the Sunday night results show.
Tess Daly (left) and Claudia Winkleman announced they were stepping down as hosts of Strictly Come Dancing (Getty Images)
In a separate statement, Daly said it was “hard to put into words” what the show had meant to her over the years.
“Strictly has been more than just a television programme,” she said. “It’s like having a third child, a second family, and a huge part of my life since that very first show back in 2004. I knew then it was something special, but I could never have imagined the magic it would bring.
“Strictly has always been about joy, celebration, and bringing people together… I’m so proud to have played a small aprt in something that continues to mean so much to so many.”
More to follow…
