Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman 'plan a boozy send-off'
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have made plans for their Strictly Come Dancing send-off.
Strictly Come Dancing co-hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set for a "proper boozy send-off".
The presenting duo announced plans to quit the BBC show earlier this year, and it's now been revealed that Tess and Claudia intend to sign-off in style.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Tess and Claudia are arranging a big Strictly gathering in the New Year for all the team to get together and have a proper boozy send-off. It’ll be a long lunch with all their closest friends on the show where everyone can really let loose behind closed doors."
The upcoming gathering has been described as an "intimate gathering" for the Strictly Come Dancing team.
The insider added: "Claudia only stayed for a quiet drink on Saturday so this intimate wrap party will be a lovely goodbye for everyone."
Tess, 56, and Claudia, 53, announced their decision to quit Strictly via a joint statement.
The co-hosts said at the time: "We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.
"We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show. They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day.
"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."
Sarah James, the executive producer of Strictly Come Dancing, also paid a glowing tribute to the co-hosts.
She said: "Tess and Claudia are quite simply the best duo of presenters in the business and we are so lucky to have had them as our Strictly anchors for so many years.
"They have championed countless celebrities on the dancefloor, led us all through two series during the pandemic but more importantly they have a deep and genuine bond with the show and every single member of the team. The Strictly Family is often referred to and these women are the matriarchs of that family."
