Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to leave Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have announced they will be leaving the show.

The pair made the announcement in a joint video shared on social media, saying they would enjoy the rest of the “amazing” current series before bowing out together and passing on “the very sparkly baton” to new hosts.

“After 21 unforgettable years, the time has come to say goodbye to Strictly Come Dancing,” Daly wrote in a separate post on Instagram.

“Strictly has always been about joy, celebration and bringing people together – and I’m so proud to have played a small part in something that continues to mean so much to so many.”

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Winkleman also shared her own statement, saying: “I’ve always believed it’s best to leave a party before you’re fully ready to go, and I know the new hosts will be magnificent.

“I look forward to watching them take Strictly to new heights.”

Daly, 56, has presented the series since it first launched in 2004, starting alongside the late Sir Bruce Forsyth. Winkleman, 53, initially fronted its weekday companion show, It Takes Two, before moving on to host the Sunday night results show and then joining the main programme after Sir Bruce stepped down in 2014.

The pair were made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours, for their services to broadcasting.

Image:
The presenters with Sir Bruce Forsyth at the Strictly Come Dancing launch in 2014. Pic: Dominic Lipinski/PA Archive

In their statements, the presenters praised the “most brilliant” team behind Strictly, as well as the millions of viewers who have watched the show over the years.

“We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’,” they said, referencing their famous sign-off, “but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”

The 23rd series of Strictly began in September, with celebrities including football star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, presenter and TV personality Vicky Pattison, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star La Voix, and model and actress Ellie Goldstein taking part.

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