So Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are leaving Strictly Come Dancing. I’ll be honest – I’m still processing it. I never wanted this news to come. I don’t like change and this one isn’t just a shock – it’s left me with a big, unsettling fear. That not only are the ravens leaving (Blackpool) Tower, but that they had no choice.
Strictly, as we all know, has had a rocky few years. Abusive professionals, drug raids, arrests and misogynistic language. There were many who called for it to take a break – recalibrate, mix things up, let the public long for it again and come back stronger, rather than insisting it’s still happy families.
Instead, it pressed on: overhauled much of what happens behind the scenes, gave its contestants chaperones, kept most of the format the same and – in my opinion, really rather impressively – managed to deliver something even better than before. Last year, I thought they had lost too much trust to hold on to the public’s goodwill. But instead, between the astonishing Chris McCausland, Tasha Ghouri’s God-given talent, and the brilliant fun of JB Gill and Sarah Hadland, it ended up being one of its best series ever.
Being proven wrong was more than a relief – it was a joy. Strictly is still safe, it’s still magical, it still has the power to stir my heart more than any other programme on TV and I can continue to love it with impunity. The seedy goings-on that threatened to taint it forever had not broken the spell. Thank God!
Daly has presented Strictly since the first series 21 years ago while Winkleman joined as a main presenter in 2014 (Photo: Guy Levy/BBC)
The reason for all that, in an enormous part, was the presence of Tess and Claud. They are the life force of the show (I’ve moaned a lot about Tess in the past, but I’ve seen real warmth from her this year – and Claudia’s intelligence, wit and weirdness make her the best presenter in the business). They don’t simply read off the autocue and keep things moving, and they aren’t just funny, silly, and glamorous: it is through them that we know and grow attached to the contestants and their (I’m sorry for this word) “journey”. To see their vulnerability and their motivation and their pride.
Maybe even more importantly, Tess and Claudia’s loyalty to Strictly sent the message that they still believed in it as a positive force. As long as they remained at the helm, still the reliably orange faces of this great, dazzling jewel in the BBC crown, the rest of us had permission not to fret too much about the chaos and scandal we kept hearing about off-stage. Never underestimate the power of TV presenters – theirs was an incredibly persuasive endorsement. Sticking around meant we could keep the faith – and the show could keep its prestige.
But as much as I am devastated and can’t bear the thought of their departure, how long could – or should – they have continued to endorse Strictly? They had nothing to do with any of the scandals, yet tacitly stamped their approval on the programme and what goes on simply by being there. How long until some other unsavoury story leaks? How long until the public demands answers from them, rather than just the BBC or Strictly‘s producers? How long until the balance tips between “steady hands on the tiller” to “captains of a sinking ship”?
I hope Strictly is not a sinking ship. I don’t ever want to stop watching it and am loving this series so far – though its remaining months will now be bittersweet.
But it is an almighty, unwieldy production, with so many people and egos involved that, despite everyone’s best intentions, it is hard not to imagine that things are bound to go wrong again.
Too much already has – and Tess and Claudia surely can’t tolerate another reckoning.
There have been so many crises that their own reputations are at risk. It will break my heart, but leaving before the next man brings this show into disrepute might be the responsible thing to do. The big problem for the BBC is that without Tess and Claudia, Strictly fans will find it harder to accept any more excuses.
