EXCLUSIVE: Former Strictly pro Brendan Cole has questioned why hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have decided to step away from the show “at the same time”, despite bags of money
Strictly legend Brendan Cole has raised questions about Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s decision to leave the show. The former Strictly pro won the first ever series of the BBC show back in 2004, when he was partnered with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky. He recently admitted the Strictly trophy he won that year met a rather tragic fate – and was broken in about 16 pieces.
The final of this year’s Strictly series airs tonight (December 20) at 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The couples competing for the Glitterball are Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu.
And it’s going to be an extra emotional night for hosts Tess and Claudia, who will be bidding farewell to the show after years of hosting it together. They announced in October that they would be leaving Strictly for good after this series.
Asked if he’d noticed a change in their behaviour on screen in light of their exit, Brendan told Sky Vegas and Daily Star: “I haven’t noticed anything differently with Tess and Claudia.
“I’ve been looking at their demeanour because I’m curious about why they’re leaving. It’s interesting to me that they both decided to leave at the same time. One – they are giving up a lot of money for not much hard work.
“They would disagree with that. They’d say it’s very hard, but we all know it isn’t. So I’m intrigued to understand whether they’d simply had enough and decided to retire – so they are.”
It’s no secret that Strictly has been dogged by scandal over the last few years, from misconduct claims and bullying allegations to alleged cocaine use by two unnamed stars of the show. However, it’s not known if these controversies have impacted Tess and Claudia’s decision to leave the programme.
A number of stars have been tipped to replace the duo as Strictly hosts, including the likes of Rylan Clark, Holly Willoughby, Bradley Walsh and Fleur East. However, nothing has been confirmed yet.
Brendan, who reached the final three times during his 15 years on Strictly, admitted that Strictly changed him “dramatically”. Asked how the show has changed him, he said: “Being on Strictly Come Dancing changed me dramatically from year one to year 15.
“I started out hot-headed, wanting to prove myself, and I learned how to be on television on the job – mainly through mistakes. I look back at some of my behaviour, and I’m embarrassed by the ridiculousness of it.
“But I learned how to be an entertainer, how to be good on TV, and I learned from Sir Bruce Forsyth every single day. He was the master. I learned from my peers too. I could write chapters on it, but in short – Strictly shaped me.”
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here .
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter.
