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For the past 21 years, there has been only one ever-present on Strictly Come Dancing. It’s not dancer-turned-judge Anton du Beke, who usually got knocked out of the contest early. It’s not the panel’s panto villain, Craig Revel Horwood, who might be the longest-serving judge but took sick leave after testing positive for Covid in 2021. It’s not even trusty band leader Dave Arch, who didn’t join until series four.
No, Strictly’s sole permanent fixture is Tess Daly. She took a few weeks maternity leave in autumn 2004 after giving birth to eldest daughter Phoebe but since then, the glitterball stalwart hasn’t missed a show, clocking up in excess of 500 episodes. It’s an astonishingly resilient record. Daly has been the linchpin of the ballroom behemoth since the very start. And now that she and co-host Claudia Winkleman have stepped down, it is truly the end of a TV era.
The pair signed off from live shows with last Saturday’s grand final. Before former footballer Karen Carney and her professional partner Carlos Gu were crowned winners, a surprise video tribute to the departing presenters was played, featuring farewell messages from fans and famous faces including Dame Mary Berry. Revel Horwood read out a heartfelt telegram from “superfan” Queen Camilla, describing the duo as “utterly fab-u-lous” and “perhaps the greatest Strictly partnership of all”.
Their send-off concluded with the prerecorded Christmas special, in which goodbyes took a back seat to the festivities. However, both received Christmas gifts from the judges – aptly, a dance for Daly and a comedy skit for Winkleman – before a cathartic last dance where the camera lingered on the duo’s tearful embrace. “It’s our final time,” said Daly. “So let’s make it count. Keep dancing!”
With 23 series under her sparkly belt, 56-year-old Daly has been the heartbeat of the BBC hoofing contest. Along the way, she has interviewed 324 pro-celebrity pairings and canvassed the opinion of 13 judges. Throughout it all, she’s held the show together and been a reassuringly familiar presence. Viewers might not appreciate how vital she is until she’s gone.
Daly has formed two successful double acts. Alongside Bruce Forsyth, she helped establish Strictly as a primetime hit. It’s hard to imagine now it’s a much-loved autumnal fixture but bringing ballroom dancing back to the TV schedules was a considerable punt for the corporation in the early noughties. Daly was a key part of making the show a success.
Her father, textile factory worker Vivian, died of emphysema a year before she landed the Strictly job. “My dad loved ballroom dancing,” she has said. “He got me into it when I was a kid. It’s wonderful to think I’ve done something that would have made him so proud.”
When Forsyth hung up his dancing shoes a decade later, Daly formed a trailblazing double act with Winkleman – the first ever female presenting duo on Saturday night TV. It’s testament to Daly’s skill that the show didn’t skip a beat during the transition from Brucey to La Winkle. She went from the old stager’s sidekick to the senior partner but made it look effortless, partly thanks to the women’s off-screen bond.
“We’ve been friends for years, forever texting and teasing each other,” Daly has said. “We’re in and out of each other’s dressing rooms, rifling through each other’s clothes rails. I pinch her Haribo while I’m there.” For years, the screensaver on Daly’s phone was a photo of Winkleman after she’d gone too far with the fake tan. Daly said it made her laugh whenever she looked at it.
“Tess had to be a bit of a chameleon,” says Strictly’s longtime executive producer Sarah James. “To be a sidekick to Bruce and hold her own with someone so experienced was incredibly impressive. When he left, Tess and Claudia found their groove really quickly. Their different personalities worked well together and they bounced off each other brilliantly. When you think about duos on telly, there’s Ant and Dec – but they’ve known each other since childhood. To form a duo that fast as adults is extraordinary.”
Winkleman pays glowing tribute to how Daly helped her settle in. “I was totally terrified,” she recalls. “I’d get so scared before a show, I’d just cling to her. Tess would tell me she had my back and that was how it worked from day one. She wants everyone to feel comfortable, happy and safe. If one of us was ill, worried about our kids or wearing a dress that didn’t feel totally right, we just looked after each other. She’s my life raft and I really hope I’m hers.”
The long-fringed fashionista has served an epic stint herself. Winkleman hosted BBC Two companion series Strictly: It Takes Two for six years before being promoted to the Sunday night results show in 2010, then finally the main live show in 2014. She’s been part of the Strictly family for almost as long as Daly. The pair have stood shoulder pad-to-shoulder pad for 15 years.
Winkleman is a brilliant broadcaster – smart, spontaneous, free-wheeling and witty. She’s the one who wins Baftas and lands plum gigs elsewhere. She’s made The Traitors another hot BBC property and is reportedly in advanced talks about her own chatshow. By contrast, Daly’s strengths are often underrated. Beneath the slick facade, she’s full of heart and humour. You don’t helm a flagship live franchise for 21 years without being very good at it indeed.
“Strictly is one of the last big live shows still running,” says James. “Sometimes we’re on-air for two-and-a-half hours. So much can go wrong. It can’t be underestimated how difficult Tess’s role is. She keeps it all flowing seamlessly. She ensures the judging panel have their say, while keeping on time. On top of that, she’s so warm and supportive with the celebrities. Being a mum and genuine caring soul, she excels at that. She’s also authoritative with the judges, which is no mean feat.”
Escapist entertainment isn’t easy to do. “Tess is the absolute anchor of Strictly,” says Winkleman. “We couldn’t do it without her. My part is easy. I have a bunch of brilliant dancers around me on the balcony. Tess has to command the whole floor below and does it with total charm. She drives the show but never, ever makes it about herself. It’s always about our couples.”
“What people don’t see on TV is how much goes into contingency planning,” says James. “We practice how to handle it if something goes awry. A lot of that falls to Tess. If a dance goes wrong, or the set or band aren’t ready for the next number to start, it’s generally down to Tess to steer the ship. Thanks to her, viewers wouldn’t be aware that anything has gone wrong. She’s great at responding in the moment. On live TV, anything can happen. Bruno [Tonioli, former judge] might fall off his chair. Someone could swear. You just have to ad lib and keep it moving.” “She constantly saves the day,” adds Winkleman. “She’s extremely calm and a master of live TV. Whatever happens, Tess makes it work. She’s pure magic.”
Daly is also a figurehead behind the scenes. “Her investment in the show is the thing that perhaps makes Tess most special,” says James. “She loves and cares about Strictly as much as we all do. I know it’s a cliché but there really is a Strictly family and Tess is the matriarch. She looks after us all, making sure we’re fed, watered and happy. Having had both of her children while working on Strictly, Tess has always been such a champion of working mums, too.”
The duo come as a package. Revel Horwood calls them “a power couple”. When they made the shock leaving announcement in October, they did it together on Instagram. They prefer to undertake joint promotional duties, rather than flying solo. Both were recently awarded MBEs for services to broadcasting. With women in the public eye too often pitted against one another by the media, their loyal friendship is a joy to behold. There’s never been a hint of anything but affection between them. This feeds into their on-screen chemistry. “We’ve been through a lot together and I really value our friendship, says Winkleman. “I love her very bones.”
Daly gets a rough ride from certain quarters. Venture on to social media during Strictly and alongside catty remarks about the frocks, you might see Daly described as “The Tessbot” or “RoboTess”. Such sniping fails to account for the demands of anchoring a live production with so many moving parts. She’s usually reading the autocue, responding to the voices in her earpiece and reacting to the chaos around her, all at the same time. There’s a whiff of misogyny about much of the criticism. “She’s been at the helm of the longest running entertainment show on the BBC and kept it going for more than 20 years,” says Janes. “Tess deserves a huge amount of credit.”
Crucially, Daly is happy to laugh at herself. Her most embarrassing moment was “Lactating on live television. Luckily I was wearing black, so only I knew.” Since the leaving announcement, demob-happy Daly has visibly relaxed on-screen. She’s relished goofing around with her castmates and is clearly enjoying her well-deserved victory lap.
Winkleman might hit more headlines but Daly is the power behind the sequin-spangled throne. As Strictly strives to recover from a string of scandals, the imminent departure of its long-time anchors signals a period of seismic change. Not only does the BBC need to find the right replacements but there are rumours of production being moved to Manchester. This truly is the end of a choreographic chapter.
The pair’s last appearance on-screen will be the pre-recorded Christmas special. The semi-final saw them get a surprise send-off. They shed a tear at tribute videos and were given their own commemorative golden glitterball trophies. It felt right to wave them off early. Self-effacing to a fault, the duo wouldn’t want to steal the spotlight from the finalists.
The sight of Tess Daly beneath the Strictly glitterball has been a constant in our living rooms for more than two decades. Expect an emotional end. “We will cry and eat pizza and might have a drink,” says Winkleman. “But mainly we will laugh about how lucky we are to have been part of the amazing Strictly snowglobe. We’re going to miss it so much but will never lose touch. Tess is my friend for life. We both fully support whoever takes over. I can’t wait to applaud from my sofa with a massive bag of crisps.”
