Claudia Winkleman has announced that her BBC talk show, The Claudia Winkleman Show, will not return for a second series after she found herself too nervous to enjoy the experience. The show, which launched earlier this year, featured the presenter interviewing celebrity guests in front of a studio audience.
Winkleman's Statement on Leaving the Show
In a statement, Winkleman expressed gratitude to the BBC, the guests, and the production team, but admitted the format did not suit her temperament. She 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."
Background and Other Projects
Winkleman, who stepped down from presenting Strictly Come Dancing after 15 years last December, currently hosts The Traitors and its spin-off The Celebrity Traitors for the BBC. Her chat show was produced by So Television, the company behind the award-winning The Graham Norton Show. It occupied the same Friday night slot on BBC One between series of other programmes. Guests included Jennifer Saunders, Dan Levy and Jeff Goldblum.
BBC's Response
Ed Havard, director of entertainment at the BBC, praised Winkleman's work on the show. He said: "Claudia's warmth and quick wit made The Claudia Winkleman Show an absolute joy. Whilst we loved the show, we fully respect her decision and would like to thank Claudia and the brilliant team at So Television for bringing the series to screen on the BBC. As the host of the country's most-watched show, Claudia will be back on the BBC very soon when The Celebrity Traitors returns later this year, and we can't wait to see what she has in store for the new band of celebs."
