Claudia Winkleman has revealed that her children have begged her to leave her role on Strictly Come Dancing, calling it 'embarrassing'. The 51-year-old presenter, who has fronted the BBC show since 2014, shared that her eldest son Jake, now 20, pleaded with her to stop.
'[My eldest son] said to me, “Mum, you have got to stop doing Strictly, it’s so embarrassing and my teacher has mentioned it,”' she recalled. Winkleman firmly reminded him that the job pays for his lifestyle, pointing to his trainers. Jake quickly apologised, saying, 'Okay, sorry.'
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival after receiving an Outstanding Achievement award for her work on Strictly, Winkleman insisted she has no plans to quit. 'My only job is to make sure [the contestants] are OK and to stop speaking on time,' she joked. 'I know I’m not allowed to say I just paint myself orange and I read out loud but really that is what I do most of the time... that’s the gig but it’s really, really thrilling!'
Winkleman, who shares three children with film producer Kris Thykier, also described herself as an 'annoying' mum when not on screen. 'I follow them around and I’m a very annoying human being to them. They say, “Mum give us some space,” and I say “No”,' she chuckled.
The presenter is known for her long fringe and orange tan, which she recently revealed a BBC boss complained about early in her Strictly tenure. 'Two days later, James, who does my hair, said, “This guy phoned up to complain about the length of your fringe.” He was like: “You can have this job but it’s just annoying, it’s down to your nose. You want to be on telly but you’re invisible!”'
