Strictly hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced their exit from Strictly but two years ago, the BBC fought to keep them as the hosts with a huge six-figure deal
Strictly Come Dancing‘s hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set to leave the show at the end of this season. This comes near the end of a reported eye-watering six-figure contact, which the pair are said to have signed two years ago, making them two of the highest earners at the BBC.
In 2023, Tess and Claudia signed a contract that would keep them as the hosts of Strictly for two more years. The two were believed to have already had an incredibly high combined wage of more than £300,000 but a new six-figure deal made the pair soar even higher up the list of the biggest earners at the BBC.
As this contract comes to an end, the pair have both announced their exit before the show is even halfway through.
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At the time it was signed, a TV insider told The Sun that BBC bosses “wouldn’t dream of ever losing” Tess and Claudia. “Strictly’s leading ladies may command a high price, but the Beeb view them as great value for money given how popular they are with viewers.”
As such, the BBC offered them even more money than they were already making to keep hosting the show. However, the contract only last for the next two years, and expires when the 2025 series comes to an end. Tess and Claudia have already made it clear they will not stay for another series.
Taking to Instagram, the pair uploaded a joint video explaining their decision. “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time,” they said.
“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.
“They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’ but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
Tess has been on the show since it began in 2004, hosting alongside Bruce Forsyth. Claudia started hosting spin-off show It Takes Two in 2004 as well, but handed the reins over to Zoe Ball when she moved to hosting the main show in 2014 after Bruce’s exit.
Neither woman has revealed their reason for leaving, nor has the BBC. But Kate Phillips, the chief content officer for the BBC, released a statement saying she understood why they felt the need to go.
“I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but it’s the end of an era with Tess and Claudia’s decision to bid farewell to the Strictly ballroom,” Kate said. “They’ve both been such incredible hosts at the very heart of the show, their passion and dedication has gone above and beyond.
“They’ve been integral to Strictly’s success over the last 20 years, but I understand why they’ve decided it’s time to hang up the glitter ball and get their weekends back. As Craig would say they are fab-u-lous presenters, and they are fab-u-lous friends to me and so many others at the BBC. Thank you Tess and Claud for everything, we will miss you hugely.”
Likewise, Suzy Lamb the managing director of entertainment at the BBC studios, said the network will “miss them dearly” but wishes them “nothing but the best” for the future.
Sarah James, the executive producer of Strictly, referred to the pair as the “matriarchs” of the Strictly family and thanked them for everything they’d done. “Tess and Claudia are quite simply the best duo of presenters in the business and we are so lucky to have had them as our Strictly anchors for so many years. They have championed countless celebrities on the dancefloor, led us all through two series during the pandemic but more importantly they have a deep and genuine bond with the show and every single member of the team.
“The Strictly Family is often referred to and these women are the matriarchs of that family. We have been together and supported each other for a long time – through pregnancies, births and deaths and to say we will all miss them terribly is an understatement. Tess, Claudia, THANK YOU for everything, it’s not over yet – let’s enjoy the rest of this fabulous series together. I would say Keep Dancing, but you never actually started!”
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