George Clarke and his Strictly Come Dancing professional partner, Alexis Warr, opened up on the “bittersweet” exit in a recent episode of the Useless Hotline podcast
George Clarke and his Strictly Come Dancing partner, Alexis Warr, have spoken out about a major departure from the programme in a “sad” update. Tonight’s episode (Saturday, December 20) will see the 2025 series reach its climax as the final three couples – George and Alexis, Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu – battle it out for the coveted Glitterball Trophy during the Strictly Grand Final.
Speaking on George’s Useless Hotline podcast, which he co-hosts with Max Balegde, the duo reflected on the looming exit of Strictly presenters Claudia Winkleman (who’s also known for her work on The Traitors) and Tess Daly following the conclusion of this series.
George highlighted that whilst the pre-recorded Christmas special would mark the final episode to feature the beloved presenting duo, tonight’s finale represents their last time presenting the massively popular BBC dancing show live.
Alexis revealed: “It’s strange because, even though it’s my first season, and like seeing them, meeting them, I feel like I’ve known them for so long, and I just see how you can just fall absolutely in love with them.
“And they’re so good, and they’re just…as a contestant or as a – what do you call like? The role that we are on the show, who your host is, like you form a deep relationship with them, and it’s just like they make so much – what am I trying to say?”.
She explained that the duo make things “lighter”, as she recounted a time when she appeared on the US reality show So You Think You Can Dance, hosted by Cat Deeley, whom Alexis described as “like a breath of fresh air”.
Alexis went on to say: “And so you just see how much people love them, and so it’s definitely like bittersweet, and even though it’s my first year, I feel like I’ve known them for a long time, and it’s gonna be sad, but I think it’s gonna be a heartwarming and bittersweet.”
Max chimed in: “I think the fact that you’ve only been there for – this is your first year – and you feel that way speaks to just how lovely they are as people. Like, I just keep thinking, ‘Imagine how the judges feel’.”
In a shock revelation in October, veteran hosts Claudia and Tess announced their departure from Strictly.
Taking to Instagram, the pair said they “loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream”.
They further commented that they were “always going to leave together” and felt it was the “right time”.
You can catch the grand final of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One on Saturday, December 20, from 7pm to 9:10pm.
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
