Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to present Strictly for last time

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to present Strictly for last time Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will make their last-ever appearance on Strictly Come Dancing on Christmas Day, more than a decade after they began presenting the show together. The pair will oversee the Strictly Christmas Special, which airs on BBC One at 17:30 and will see six couples battle it out under the glitterball. Daly and Winkleman shocked fans in October by announcing they would be stepping down at the end of the current series. Much attention has turned to who may replace them, with Zoe Ball, Rylan, Janette Manrara, Alan Carr and Holly Willoughby among the names being speculated upon. After a rocky few years for the show, some have also been wondering what comes next for the competition. But entertainment journalist Emma Bullimore says many people will still want the job. "Make no mistake, this is still a huge gig on British TV," she told BBC News. "Not many shows bring families together in the way Strictly does." 'The end of an era' For many, Daly and Winkleman are the faces of Strictly. Daly has presented since the first series 21 years ago, and started alongside Sir Bruce Forsyth. Winkleman joined in 2014, having hosted Strictly's sister show It Takes Two since 2004. The pair became prime-time Saturday night TV's first female presenting duo. Their revelation that they were stepping down sparked a huge reaction online and also shocked contestants , with stars on the latest series telling me "no one saw it coming". In a joint statement on Instagram in October, the pair said hosting the show had been "an absolute dream". "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," the pair added. They did not give any reason for their decision to leave, simply saying they were "always going to leave together and now feels like the right time". The BBC's chief content officer, Kate Phillips, called it "the end of an era". "They've both been such incredible hosts at the very heart of the show, their passion and dedication has gone above and beyond," she said at the time. Sparkle, style and plenty of highlights There have been sparkle, style and a whole host of memorable moments over the years that Daly and Winkleman have been at the helm. During the semi-final of this year's Strictly, a special package of their best bits working on the show was played. The montage took in moments from the early years to more recent memories, as well as interviews with the judges. Clips included Daly and Winkleman telling Sir Bruce they hoped they would not "let him down", Daly "sawing" through Winkleman in a magic trick and Winkleman dressing up as a ghost only to be told by Daly "Halloween is next week". The pair were each awarded their own unique golden glitterball trophy...

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