In October, the beloved Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman made the shock announcement that they would be leaving the BBC competition show after the end of the current series. And now, that time has finally come.
Saturday, 20 December marks the biggest night in the ballroom: this year's Strictly final. While stakes will be high for Amber Davies, George Clarke and Karen Carney, it might be an even bigger night for Tess and Claudia.
Ahead of the monumental moment this weekend, Tess' husband, Vernon Kay, shared an incredibly emotional tribute to his wife on his BBC Radio 2 morning show on Friday, December 19.
The 51-year-old, addressing his wife's big day, began: "It's Tess's last Strictly on Saturday, and I can't say too much because I'm going to get really emotional, but it's been an amazing 21 years. She has been at the helm of that show with Bruce, and with Claudia, and it's been nothing but raucous fun." See the video above for Vernon's full message to Tess Daly ahead of her big day…
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman's departure from Strictly
This season's Strictly final officially marks the last time that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will ever present the live show together, following their announcement that they would be leaving the competition after more than a decade of co-hosting. Tess is the only current cast member who has been there since the show began, making her departure the beginning of a new era.
Though they will appear in the festive special airing on Christmas Day, this has been pre-recorded.
Tess first started presenting the series when it launched in 2004, alongside the late Sir Bruce Forsyth, also known for The Price is Right. Meanwhile, Claudia fronted its weekday companion show, It Takes Two, eventually beginning to host the Sunday night results show alongside Tess and joining the main show in 2014 after Sir Bruce stepped down.
© CREDIT LINE:BBC/Guy LevyIn December 2025, Tess was asked by host Fleur East on an episode of It Takes Two whether the reality of her departure had sunk in, and she quickly responded: "The short answer is no.
"I genuinely haven't had time to think about it, because we've been so into this series, so absorbed by it," she continued. "It's such a brilliant series that all of our focus is on that, really. So I think it'd be a bit of a shock on the 20th. I might get emotional."
In an exclusive interview with HELLO!, Tess told us about the first time she met Claudia. "I remember the first time I ever met her was before we started on Strictly together," she told us.
"We lived near each other, and I bumped into her, and her boy, who is now 23, was in a pram. He was a baby in a buggy, and that's how I first met her. I opened the chemist door for her, and she came out and I said hello. He was a newborn now he's 23. So that's how long we've known each other throughout our kids' lives. There's a sort of deep shared history there."
