Tess Daly had her final Strictly Come Dancing show in December.
“The love and joy strictly creates is something magical and I’m so lucky to have seen my mum work with the absolute best people.
“Last night was definitely an emotional one, but most importantly it was a celebration of the show and the 21 years mum has been doing it. (sic)” She continued: “Mum you are a true inspiration to me I will hold all these Strictly memories close to my heart forever. It’s been in my life since the day mum was pregnant with me so I don’t know life without Strictly and for that reason I will forever be the shows number one fan (sic).”
In October 2025, Tess, 56, and her Strictly Come Dancing co-presenter Claudia Winkleman, 53, revealed they would be stepping down from the BBC Latin and Ballroom dance programme following that year’s Christmas Day special – which saw TV personality Scarlett Moffatt, 35, crowned champion alongside her 33 year old professional partner, Vito Coppola.
In a joint statement, Tess and Claudia said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.
“We were always going to leave together, and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series, and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.
“They’re the most brilliant team, and we’ll miss them every day.
“We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’, but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
