Claudia Winkleman has featured in a new BBC campaign just days after announcing that she has quit her talk show. The presenter, known for hosting The Traitors and its celebrity spin-off, appears in a three-minute film fronted by comedian Romesh Ranganathan that brings together 90 household names from across the BBC.
Winkleman's Recent Career Moves
It has been a busy period for Winkleman, who stepped down from presenting Strictly Come Dancing after 15 years last December alongside co-host Tess Daly. Earlier this year, she launched The Claudia Winkleman Show, a Friday night talk show featuring celebrity guests such as Jennifer Saunders, Dan Levy and Jeff Goldblum. However, she announced last week that she would not continue with the format.
Of the chat show's future, Winkleman said: "I'm incredibly grateful to the BBC for giving me the opportunity, to the guests who agreed to come and chat to me, and the production team who were simply excellent. Sometimes you have to try something to see how it fits, and I realised I was just too nervous to enjoy it. Maybe one day I will give it another try, but for now I already have the best jobs in the world and absolutely love the shows I'm doing."
The New BBC Campaign
On Sunday, July 19, Winkleman was among nearly 100 stars taking part in the new campaign to promote the BBC. The ad, fronted by Romesh Ranganathan, celebrates the BBC's 'extraordinary cultural footprint' and answers the question: 'What has the BBC ever done for me?' Romesh travels through iconic BBC programmes, sets and studios, encountering familiar faces that each help him answer the question.
The campaign kicks off in EastEnders' Queen Vic pub, where Romesh reads a newspaper headline asking 'Is the BBC really worth it?' He then tells barmaid Tracey, played by Jane Slaughter: "It's a good question. You have got to ask – what has the BBC ever done for me?" A man playing the piano is revealed to be Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, before a string of stars appear, including Winkleman standing beside two of The Traitors' hooded figures as she pulls a pint of 'Traitors Ale'.
Highlighting BBC's Impact
Stepping out into the street, Romesh tells viewers that the BBC has been responsible for 'introducing the nation to Adele', verifying news 'thoroughly', and offering Mary Berry, Glastonbury and 'celebs on the telly'. The campaign then highlights how the BBC delivers coverage of Wimbledon, 'a love of nature' through shows including Springwatch, and avoids having advertisements. Walking through the set of Call The Midwife, Romesh says the BBC 'does a lot for British storytelling'.
Pushing back against critics, he declares 'stuff your Apprentice and Match Of The Day' before Louis Theroux appears in a studio with his hand hovering over a switch, warning that 'none of this exists if we don't want it to'. Handed a folder, Romesh reads statistics stating that the money the public pays to the BBC creates more than six and a half billion pounds for the economy, which he says sounds 'pretty good'.
Conclusion and Star-Studded Cast
The ad concludes with Romesh being pushed onto a stage that turns out to be the Strictly dancefloor. He asks viewers one final time, 'What has the BBC ever done for me?', before judge Anton Du Beke appears and holds up a score paddle showing a 10 but is told to 'bog off'. Text on screen reads: "There's a BBC for each of us. Funded by all of us."
The campaign film also features Alan Carr, Peter Capaldi, Sara Cox, Graham Norton, Vernon Kay, Greg James and Ruth Jones. Additionally, Cate Blanchett, Daisy Ridley, Chris McCausland, Clive Myrie, Stacey Solomon, Pudsey Bear and a number of Daleks appear. Inspired by the 1986 BBC campaign featuring John Cleese, the new film reimagines the question for a generation 40 years later. It was directed by Paddington In Peru's Dougal Wilson and features music from Ben Foster, Ben Bailey Smith and Andy Burrows, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers.
In a blog accompanying the campaign, BBC chief customer officer Kerris Bright wrote that the aim was to 'ensure the BBC gets credit for the fundamental impact it has on society, as well as the things it makes'. She added the campaign came at an 'important moment' ahead of the Government beginning the process of renewing the BBC's Royal Charter and determining how the organisation should be funded.
