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She has ruled the Traitors castle and waltzed out of the ballroom on Strictly Come Dancing. Now Claudia Winkleman is taking up residence in one of television’s most traditional settings – on the chatshow sofa.
The BBC has confirmed that the presenter, who has become one of its most prized assets after fronting two of its most successful programmes, is to host The Claudia Winkleman Show in the spring.
The corporation will be throwing resources at the programme to ensure her new platform has the biggest names for its launch.
“I can’t quite believe it and I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for this amazing opportunity,” Winkleman said. “I’m obviously going to be awful, that goes without saying, but I’m over the moon they’re letting me try.”
The announcement confirms Winkleman’s status as one of the corporation’s biggest names, after her long stint on Strictly Come Dancing and the runaway success of Celebrity Traitors this year. Winkleman’s demeanour, balancing the tension and absurdity of the latter show, is seen as a crucial part of its success.
The move will also ward off attempts by other broadcasters to poach Winkleman, who has become one of primetime television’s hottest properties.
Celebrity Traitors was the smash hit of the year. Its live audience was more than 11 million, the biggest since the Gavin & Stacey special on Christmas Day 2024.
Strictly Come Dancing, which she presented alongside Tess Daly, remains one of television’s most popular formats despite being hit with allegations of bullying and an arrest of a star.
The joint announcement by Winkleman and Daly in October that they were quitting the show immediately led to speculation that the BBC was lining up a new format for the Traitors presenter.
While it confirms her pre-eminent status in TV’s pecking order, there are risks in the talkshow format. Earlier in her career, S Club 7’s publicist halted an interview with her on Liquid News, the BBC’s former celebrity news show.
Talkshows fronted by other presenters on a ratings hot streak have not always worked. Davina McCall, whose chatshow struggled in a primetime slot in 2006, has since said she regretted making it in the format that eventually appeared.
The TV chatshow has lost viewers in the face of increased opposition and the arrival of digital platforms such as YouTube, but it still has an important place in the BBC’s schedules.
The broadcaster hosts The Graham Norton Show, which attracts more than 2 million viewers per episode. Winkleman has been a guest presenter on Norton’s show.
Winkleman’s programme will not replace Norton’s, which has just been renewed for three years. It will be made by the same producers, So Television.
While Norton’s show runs through the autumn and winter, Winkleman’s new platform will run in the spring. Its first guests have not yet been announced.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, the head of entertainment commissioning at the BBC, said: “Claudia is a true national treasure – warm, witty and endlessly entertaining. She has an extraordinary ability to put people at ease and bring out the very best in them, whether they’re global superstars or members of the audience.
“It’s very exciting that she will be fronting her very own show on the BBC and we can’t wait for viewers to join Claudia and her sofa full of stars.”
