Tess and Claudia’s exit announcement took Strictly stars by surprisepublished at 18:53 GMT

18:53 GMT

Noor Nanji
Culture reporter

Tess and Claudia holding their Baftas, both wearing whiteImage source, Reuters

Image caption,

Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s last edition of Strictly will air on Christmas Day

Last month, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced they will be leaving Strictly Come Dancing after this series.

The current cast of celebrities battling it out on the dancefloor were unaware of the news, and found out with the rest of us when the hosts made their announcement in an Instagram video.

“I think we found out as everybody else did, just on their socials, which I’m constantly refreshing anyway, as I’m a big fan,” said George Clarke.

Quote Message

No one saw it coming”

La Voix

Daly and Winkleman’s revelation sparked a huge reaction online, with the pair saying in a joint statement at the time that they “were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time”.

Much attention has turned to who may replace the presenting pair, with Alan Carr and Holly Willoughby among the names being speculated upon.

EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal said “you feel like it’s the end of an era, and you don’t know what the show is going to look like in the future”.

Here’s a look back at the statement that took the Strictly world by storm:

Media caption,

Claudia and Tess announce they’re leaving Strictly Come Dancing