Craig Revel Horwood has shared a touching message of appreciation for Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman after they announced they’re stepping down from hosting Strictly Come Dancing.
The beloved pair became the first women to co-host the show for the BBC, and recently surprised viewers by revealing this season will be their final one.
On Friday’s episode of The One Show, Craig talked about how much he enjoys working with the pair, fondly remembering their time together.
Thinking back on cherished times with them, he explained, “I really enjoy working with Claud’s – I’ve been collaborating with Claudia since her appearance on ‘It Takes Two.’”
‘And what I love about her was she knew absolutely nothing about dance.
I’m really going to miss Tess. I’ve known her for 21 years, and she’s always reminded me of Bruce too.
‘I wish them well I want them to go onto fabulous things. I love them both.’
Visibly moved, he said that whenever he hears the music, he’ll always remember Brucie and Tess.
This news follows Claudia’s recent disclosure of a mutual agreement she and Tess made to leave Strictly Come Dancing at the same time.
Claudia, 53, and Tess, 56, will be leaving Strictly Come Dancing after the current season concludes, with their last episode airing on Christmas Day as part of the show’s holiday special.
Both of them had agreed beforehand that they would leave the show at the same time, rather than one staying on and working with someone else.
Claudia previously explained how she and her partner decided to leave the dance floor.
They hatched the plan to quit whilst they were at the top, enjoying a pizza together.
Claudia told The Mirror that she doesn’t believe fans want her and Tess to stay on the show indefinitely.
She said: ‘I don’t think anybody would want that.
‘I am sure people watching would go “Can that small orange creature just shuffle off?”
‘Tess and I will leave at the same time. We made that pact over pizza. I had pepperoni.’
Addressing viewers directly, Claudia started by saying they wanted to share some news that had been circulating: ‘We want you to hear it from us first.’
Tess announced that after 21 fantastic years on Strictly, they’ve decided it’s time to leave and let someone new take over.
“That baton is really sparkly!” Claudia chuckled, then turned to her friend and fellow actor, saying, “You’ve been with me from the start.”
Tess said, gesturing towards Claudia, ‘I worked with Bruce, the wonderful Bruce Forsyth, over twenty years ago, but I’ve spent much more time working with you.’
It’s been a significant part of our lives, starting when our children were very young, and now that they’re grown, we truly appreciate all the memories we’ve made.
Claudia went on to say how grateful they were to be a part of the wonderful show, and emphasized that the entire Strictly team is what makes it so special.
They wrote in the video’s caption: ‘We’ve really enjoyed working together, and hosting Strictly has been a wonderful experience.’
We always planned to finish this journey together, and it feels like the perfect moment. We’re going to enjoy the rest of this incredible series, and we want to express our huge gratitude to the BBC and everyone who works on the show.
This team is incredibly talented, and we’re going to miss them dearly. It will be hard to say goodbye, but we’ll always remind each other to keep going and stay positive.
‘Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.’
The Daily Mail reported that Claudia’s new BBC talk show will be produced by the same company behind The Graham Norton Show.
So Television, the company started by Norton and Graham Stuart, is producing Winkleman’s new show. TV executives think it could launch her to similar fame as Terry Wogan.
The BBC believes the upcoming show hosted by Claudia Winkleman will be a big hit, and they plan to air it during breaks in The Graham Norton Show’s schedule.
Claudia Winkleman received a lot of positive feedback for filling in for Graham Norton on the BBC earlier this year while he was taking a break. People especially liked her work hosting ‘Traitors’.
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2025-11-01 19:49