Tess Daly, the popular host of Strictly Come Dancing, emotionally revealed her struggle to accept a significant change in her family life alongside her husband Vernon Kay. The 56-year-old TV personality surprised the entertainment world by announcing her departure from Strictly after the current season, a decision she shared with Claudia Winkleman.
This decision will grant her more quality time with her family, particularly her husband Vernon Kay and their daughters Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16. Tess expressed her difficulty in coming to terms with her eldest daughter Phoebe leaving home for university to study film and television.
In an interview with Hello!, Tess expressed her deep bond with her children, stating that she can’t imagine them not being around and jokingly predicting they might stay at home until they are 30. Despite her successful television career, Tess emphasized that being a mother has been her defining role for the past two decades.
Addressing her departure from Strictly, Tess humorously mentioned that she won’t be pursuing a role on The Traitors with Claudia Winkleman due to her perceived lack of skill and her “world’s worst poker face.” The final episode featuring Tess and Claudia will air on Christmas Day as part of the annual Christmas special.
Claudia disclosed that she and Tess had made a pact to leave Strictly together years ago, negating the notion that fans would want her to stay indefinitely. She jokingly remarked that viewers might want her to leave, echoing their mutual decision to exit the show simultaneously, a pact they sealed over pizza.
While Tess has been a fixture on Strictly since its inception in 2004, Claudia initially hosted the spin-off show It Takes Two before progressing to the results show and eventually replacing the iconic Sir Bruce Forsyth. The duo’s joint statement expressed gratitude for their time on the show and conveyed their plans to bid farewell in a memorable fashion.
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