Suki Panesar, played by EastEnders actor Balvinder Sopal, has praised Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Strictly matriarchs Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly will be sorely missed, says EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal. This week the presenting duo shocked everyone when they announced they would be departing the show at the end of the current series. Balvinder, 46, paid tribute to the “caring” and “supportive” pair.
The actress, who plays Suki Panesar, said, “People are sad that they lost their iconic presence on Strictly.” They are truly brilliant. They are powerful, funny, and seductive. They are sassy, look amazing, and have a certain age before they can get past. They are captivating, draw audiences in, and occasionally make a tune in for them. What a wonderful job they did for both the show and for us.
“They’re the best of friends and they come across like that. How lucky are we to be able to absorb that energy and be taken care of? They’re the matriarchs of the show, they really have taken care of Strictly Come Dancing in the best possible way. And what an inspiration for us as well, to be looking up to such women like that.”
Soap star Balvinder – who danced the quickstep to Texas Hold ‘Em by Beyoncé last night with partner Julian Caillon – described is an “end of an era” and said it’s a privilege to dance in their final season.
They represent Bruce Forsyth and Len Goodman’s era in Strictly. They leave behind all that. We will now have two new people who will direct the show in a different way when they leave. We simply need to reinvent ourselves and move on as things come to an end. See what transpires. They need to be filled with big boots.
Tess and Claudia announced their departure from the show on Thursday (23 October) in a joint video, where they said: “After 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly, we have decided that the time is right to step aside.”
They added that they are bound by a collective bargain. Tess referred to Strictly as her “third child” and “second family” in a separate statement, promising to continue watching but felt the need to “hand over the reins.”
“We were always going to leave together, and this is the right time,” he said. We just want to say a huge thank you to the BBC and to everyone who volunteers for the show so that we can watch it for the longest while it lasts. We’ll miss them every day because they are the most brilliant team. When we say the final “keep dancing,” we will cry, but we’ll keep saying it to one another. Just possibly while eating some pizza while wearing tracksuit bottoms at home.
Sources close to the pair, who always had a pact to leave together at the same time, suggested they had told the top show execs of their plan some weeks ago, but their video on social media caught many of the Strictly cast and crew off guard. Insiders said privately Tess and Claudia have been discussing the idea of leaving for around a year.
Tess and Claudia wanted to rise to the top, a source said, “while the show is still huge, and shortly after they received MBEs. Midway through the series, it becomes a bit of a swansong and doesn’t distract the viewer from the winner.
With The Traitors and other TV shows abounding, Claudia is at her peak of her career. Teess enjoys spending more time with her family and friends after being the show’s host for more than 20 years.
They considered it was the right time to stop because the recent scandals surrounding the show have also had a slight impact on the ratings and there may be more.
According to a source close to the duo, “they always said they would go together when they felt right, and it just feels right this year.”
Source: Mirror
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