Claudia Winkleman, 47, has been part of the Strictly Come Dancing family since the BBC show first started airing in 2004. From 2004 until 2013 she was best known for presenting the spin-off show It Takes Two. When Sir Bruce Forsyth stepped down as Strictly host in 2014, Claudia teamed up with Tess Daly, 50, at the helm. Having worked alongside her since joining the show as a researcher in 2009, Kim Winston, who is hosting the Strictly 2019 podcast with Joe Sugg, 28, spilled all on one of the TV star’s odd habits.
Introducing a clip of a nervous Claudia prior to last weekend’s first live show on the podcast, Kim told Joe: “It’s not just the celebs that were nervous.”
“I’m so scared!” Claudia could be heard squealing, at which point Kim replied: “Go, pull my hair, pull my hair.”
“Kim, help me, help me. You do it,” the presenter joked.
“We look the same. You’re a nicer version. You’re 20 years younger. Get out there!”
“That was Claudia Winkleman. Even she gets slightly nervous,” Kim said, before going on to explain the strange comment about her hair.
“Whenever she saw me before a show, her thing was to yank my hair,” she revealed.
“Really?” former Strictly finalist Joe interjected, sounding baffled.
“Backstage, every time she saw me, she wouldn’t go on but she’d be like, ‘Where’s Kim? Where’s Kim?’” his co-star continued. “And she’d just really tug my hair.
“Luckily you’re good mates,” Joe laughed.
“And I just had to take it!” Kim exclaimed lightheartedly. “But that was the way that Claudia got through a live show.”
Elsewhere, Claudia took her place by Tess’ side on the Strictly dance floor again last weekend for the first live show of the 2019 series.
In a recent interview with Express.co.uk, Strictly’s Tess Daly opened up on her relationship with Claudia Winkleman.
Having presented the main show together for five years, Tess said their genuine off-screen friendship meant they didn’t have to “fake” camaraderie on camera.
“We’ve grown up together on TV,” she said. “It feels like that.
“We filmed together on the Sunday results show before we started doing the main show together, so we already had that experience of standing side-by-side on the Strictly floor.
“It always felt natural and right and, when you genuinely get on with someone, it is a joy to stand next to them on the floor because it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like an extension of your friendship,” Tess continued. “It’s comfortable.”
Strictly Come Dancing 2019 continues Saturday at 6.40pm on BBC One.
