Fans are still gushing about the explosive announcement that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkelman made yesterday about their joint decision to step down as Strictly Come Dancing hosts.
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly have been recurring guests on Saturday night television for years, but that is about to change.
The Strictly Come Dancing hosts yesterday announced in a joint video their decision to leave the show – after Tess, 56, has hosted for 21 years and Claudia, 53, for 11. The pair’s joint video and separate statements has been the talk of the internet since they were released yesterday.
Fans have been wondering what this means for Tess and Claudia’s future as well as the show’s future, despite Strictly stars, dancers, and judges sending their sincere condolences.
PR expert Mark Borkowski told the Mirror: “Claudia’s next act writes itself. She’s already colonised the national psyche as the high-priestess of irony and comfort – a woman who can juggle tension and silliness with surgical precision.
“The Traitors has cemented her as the face of ‘controlled chaos,’ the calm within the storm of reality TV deceit. From a brand point of view, she’s gold-plated: trusted, witty, and unflappable. The smart move now isn’t more exposure, it’s selectivity – she is the force of unscripted television: minimal appearances, maximum impact. Less ‘host,’ more ‘television event’.”
Tess, Mark added, “has the benefit of a blank canvas.” Just as Strictly begins to show its age, her exit time seems deliberate. This is her Madonna reinvention phase: the same warmth and new edge if she plays it right. She has the credibility and polish to seamlessly transition into glossy network formats or daytime franchises, according to the US rumors.
Following comments made by her husband Vernon Kay last year, there have been rumors Tess might move to the United States of America.
He remarked, “I think I messed up, so I’d like another crack at America.” He said this while speaking on the Changes with Annie MacManus podcast. For America, I hosted three network shows. I wouldn’t say that was a problem. Looking back, I can see how untrained I was. He continued, “I think I’d like to have another go at a game show in America because I know and am more confident in my job.” That has changed a lot.
In a LinkedIn post, Mark also described the timing of the pair’s announcement as a “masterclass.” Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman leaving Strictly is not just TV fluff; it’s a masterclass in timing politics, according to Mark. Although cynics may have a theory hidden beneath the sequins, this headline is a meditation on the art of departure when taken literally.
The majority of our employees continue to hold onto their legacy like a comfort blanket long after the sparkle has vanished. They simply continue to smile through the echo even though the applause is not audible.
There are always things we can’t see, such as friction, fatigue, or a sense that the best concepts have already been used. But stepping aside before the audience does is the real courage. That’s the distinction between a career and a cautionary tale in PR.
He continued, “Comfort is the real career killer: the retainer that dulls your curiosity, the “safe pair of hands” brief that gradually drains your edge,” adding: If you’re afraid to vanish for a while, you can’t innovate.
“Everyone is worried that AI will sack them,” the statement read. It might, but only if you stop having human thoughts. Bots are unable to imitate risk, reinvention, or hunger. They simply reflect your complacency back to you in real time. Not your restlessness, but they can replicate your process. They continue to perform despite being scared of the next act.
“Tess and Claudia read the room,” Mark continued. They didn’t wait for the given format to fail. They left with intact brand integrity, clean brands, and a sense of style.
The rest of us ought to take note that if the music stops dancing on a creaking floor, it might be time to switch up the volume.
The best way to waltz off while the tune still sounds half-decent is when you’ve fronted a juggernaut creaking under its own sequins. The stars have become cautious after too many awkward headlines, and Strictly has lost its cultural vibrancy.
No one wants to be the last act in a long-running variety show, thanks to a studio audience that is already halfway to bed, their people can see the writing on the wall. This exit is not a scandal; rather, it is brand preservation. Nothing can save a career more quickly than loyalty to a dying format, as is the case with timing in the world of television.
