George Clarke and his Strictly Come Dancing partner, Alexis Warr, weighed in on the “bittersweet” departure in a recent instalment of the Useless Hotline podcast
George Clarke and his Strictly Come Dancing partner, Alexis Warr, have addressed a huge exit from the show in a “sad” update. The 2025 series will culminate tonight (Saturday, December 20) when the final three couples, George and Alexis, Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu, fight it out for the Glitterball Trophy at the Strictly Grand Final.
On George’s Useless Hotline podcast, which he hosts alongside Max Balegde, the pair discussed the imminent departure of Strictly hosts Claudia Winkleman (also famed for her role on The Traitors) and Tess Daly at the end of the season.
George pointed out that, although the Christmas special would be the last episode to feature the pair, tonight’s final will be the last time they present the hugely popular BBC dance competition.
Alexis said: “It’s strange because, even though it’s my first season, and like seeing them, meeting them, I feel like I’ve known them for so long, and I just see how you can just fall absolutely in love with them.
“And they’re so good, and they’re just…as a contestant or as a – what do you call like? The role that we are on the show, who your host is, like you form a deep relationship with them, and it’s just like they make so much – what am I trying to say?”
She explained that the duo make things “lighter”, as she recounted a time when she appeared on the US reality show So You Think You Can Dance, hosted by Cat Deeley, whom Alexis described as “like a breath of fresh air”.
Alexis continued: “And so you just see how much people love them, and so it’s definitely like bittersweet, and even though it’s my first year, I feel like I’ve known them for a long time, and it’s gonna be sad, but I think it’s gonna be a heartwarming and bittersweet.”
Max added: “I think the fact that you’ve only been there for – this is your first year – and you feel that way speaks to just how lovely they are as people. Like, I just keep thinking, ‘Imagine how the judges feel’.”
In a shock announcement in October, veteran hosts Claudia and Tess disclosed that they would be parting ways with Strictly.
Taking to Instagram, the pair said they “loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream”.
In further comments, they added that they were “always going to leave together” and it felt like the “right time”.
You can catch the grand final of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One on Saturday, December 20, from 7pm to 9:10pm.
