Claudia Winkleman has revealed she threatened to leave Strictly Come Dancing so that she could be with her son on his first day at university if the dates collided.
The 49-year-old shared her concerns that the hit BBC One dance competition would return on the day her eldest son was set to leave home, and told the show’s bosses to find a replacement for her.
The TV presenter admitted on the Women’s Hour podcast last week how she would be heartbroken if she missed waving off her eldest son Jake Thykier for his first day at university.
At 18 years old, the young lad is the first of her brood to move out of the family home and start further education after a trying year for students studying throughout the global pandemic.
(Image: BBC)
And the loving mum admitted she was heartbroken to see her little one fly the nest as she called up the Strictly boss in tears and begged them to find a replacement for her on the show if the dates coincided.
She told listeners: “I phoned the boss of Strictly quite dramatically and said, through tears, ‘Sarah, I love you, I don’t want to leave Strictly, and Tess and I have agreed we will leave together when they’re done with us, but if the first show is September 13, I’m out and you’ll have to go with somebody else.’
“And there was a beat. And she said, ‘Quite dramatic. We don’t start that week.’
“I was like ‘Alright, I have to go and put up his posters,'” she explained. “It’s not that I love him more than others love their kids, but this is something parents have to go through.”
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
Luckily the first live show of the dance competition is set to take place this weekend on September 25 – more than a week after her son settled in to university life.
The doting mum shares three children with her husband Kris Thykier, her son Jake, 18, Matilda, 15 and her 10-year-old son Arthur.
And she’s not only parent out there who is struggling to adjust to their children leaving the home, fondly named ’empty nest syndrome’, as actress Patsy Kensit admitted she was devastated when her boys left home on Thursday’s instalment of Lorraine.
(Image: ITV)
Fans of the show soon took to Twitter to share their thoughts about the sadness parents feel when their children grow up and move out after caring for them for so many years.
One user wrote: “Drama for drama’s sake. Grow up your children have to!”
Another added: “Remember children aren’t your property parents and you’ve got to let them fly #Lorraine @itv.”
Whereas another argued: “It’s always hard when the children move on, parents of all walks of life you have achieved so much, in today’s climate especially after the last 18 months you should celebrate the success of your children starting the next chapter in their life #YouDidThatBeProudNotSad #Lorraine.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
