Strictly: Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman open week one of show
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have been given a strong chance of stepping down from their presenting roles on this year’s edition of Strictly Come Dancing, according to betideas.com.
The pair’s publicised pact that they would only bow out together means they are each 5/4 selections to quit the show ahead of this autumn’s series.
Claudia, 52, has been co-hosting the BBC reality show with Tess, 55, since 2014. Dubbed 'Miss Sunshine' by the late Bruce Forsyth, Tess has been presenting the show since its launch in 2004.
But the pair's decision to quit the ballroom may be taken out of their hands should the BBC pull the plug on the programme altogether after two of its professional dancers were axed for alleged misconduct. Strictly is now 2/1 to be cancelled this year.
If Strictly survives in 2024, things aren’t looking any rosier for next year’s series, with the show odds-on at 8/11 to be discontinued in 2025.
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Lee Astley, spokesperson for betideas.com, explained: "The BBC bosses have an almighty fight on their hands to keep this year’s edition of Strictly Come Dancing afloat, with rumours that presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman may quit the show making such efforts even harder.
"The pair’s odds of 5/4 to depart the programme before this autumn’s series suggests there’s a strong chance of that happening, so keep an eye on the 2024 show’s odds of 2/1 to be axed altogether."
The hugely popular dancing competition is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary when it returns to TV screens in September.
However, the fallout from the controversies surrounding the show began earlier this year, when professional dancer Giovanni Pernice was accused of unacceptable behaviour during training by his former celebrity partner, Amanda Abbington.
Giovanni was the first to be dropped from the show following a complaint after he appeared on the show with Amanda in 2023.
Earlier this year, Giovanni took to Instagram to deny all allegations against him.
Meanwhile, Graziano Di Prima was sacked from Strictly following a probe involving his behaviour against Zara McDermott.
It later emerged that the reality star had been subjected to an “incredibly distressing” experience with Graziano, and the Italian dancer’s spokesperson confirmed he had kicked her.
Strictly Come Dancing is due to return in September in BBC One.
