Claudia Winkleman, 54, is preparing to host the new series of Celebrity Traitors, which for the first time will go head-to-head in the TV ratings war with Strictly Come Dancing, the show she left last year after 15 years alongside Tess Daly, 57.
Speaking to the Mirror earlier this year, Claudia described her emotional struggle during her final live show. “What shocked me was [when] we did the last live show,” she said. “All week was like ‘We are fine’ but I could not stop crying as it has been my entire life. You know sometimes when you decide something like ‘Let's move house’. Then you pick up the final box. Not that you have done something wrong but it just feels big.”
Leaving on a high
She insisted the show, which has now welcomed Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe as its new trio of hosts, deserved a “new change”.
“You want to leave on a high,” she explained. “And you want to leave when you are loving it. We were tiny cogs in this huge sparkly, glittery thing. We were tiny as we had props guys holding Eiffel Towers, the amazing band, the dancers, the costume and hair and make-up and everything else and the lighting.
“We thought it was time to leave. Years earlier they said Gloria Estefan was playing in Blackpool and we were like ‘I cant believe it’. I phoned my husband and said ‘I have to practice the Conga’.”
Fans react to new hosts
By the end of their run, even big names and learning new dances had become commonplace. She added: “We thought it was time to leave. You know, not that I was not excited at the end, but both of us were a bit like ‘Oh yeah...cool. Alright, so then I do that…(routine)’.
“It deserves ‘new’ (change).”
Claudia said she and Tess have been spending the time they would usually be hosting the show snuggling up to watch it instead. Strictly fans have struggled to adapt to the change, with some unconvinced that a trio of hosts works.
Josh in particular has faced criticism on social media over the format change, but has received support from pro dancers on the show and BBC presenter Ed James, who hit out at the “pile on”.
Traitors line-up and Claudia's own admission
Emma Willis hasn't outwardly commented on the criticism, but shared a telling post among photos from backstage at her first live show. A quote read: “You'll get judged either way so may as well pick the fun option.” She captioned the roll: “And then… we were LIVE! #Strictly A little camera roll dump from our first weekend of live shows.” Co-host Johannes commented a love heart emoji in response, as did other Strictly stars and backstage crew.
Ahead of promoting the new series of Celebrity Traitors, which airs tonight, Claudia spoke about how she believes she's “too thick” to take part in the show. Actors Michael Sheen and Richard E Grant, supermodel Jerry Hall, presenter Maya Jama and comedians Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan and James Acaster are among the line-up, alongside Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, musician James Blunt and The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey.
Claudia said she would never want to be among their number. She said: “I'm too thick. I mustn't play it in public. I must not, thank you so much. I'm just being honest. I could have come up with a schmoozier (answer) but no. It's a privilege to play that game and to be at the round table, but I think I would just be too awful at it.”
