A rediscovered photograph shows Claudia Winkleman without the heavy fringe, dark eyeliner and bronzed complexion that have become her trademark. The image, captured for Red Nose Day in 2003, shows the presenter holding a giant cheque with lighter hair styled to one side and no sign of the tanned glow she is known for.
A look tied to her career
Claudia, 54, returned to screens earlier this month for the second series of Celebrity Traitors on the BBC. She stepped down from her role as Strictly Come Dancing co-host last year, alongside Tess Daly. The presenter has previously joked that her distinctive appearance is what secures her work, saying: "I think it's the only reason I get work. I'm sure TV producers go, 'Who's the one with the fringe? We'll have her'."
She inherited her love of a sun-kissed look from her mother, journalist and editor Eve Pollard, previously revealing: "Like me, my mum loves an orange glow, so I remember her swirling huge brushes of orange over her face and thinking it was the most glamorous thing ever."
Heavy fringe, minimal effort
Speaking to Closer Magazine, she said: "I think my fringe starts at the back of my head, it's got more weight to it than a tonne of bricks. They gave it to me and I knew that was that. You have to make much less effort when you have a really heavy fringe. I love eyeliner, but you don't even need makeup really. If you've got a very heavy fringe, you're wearing some old, battered, buckled-up boots and you're holding a book then you're done. You look like a real-life pirate."
While Claudia is now best known for presenting The Traitors and Strictly, she began her career conducting celebrity interviews on ITV's This Morning and fronted several gameshows throughout the 90s.
