Strictly Come Dancing could be facing “the final nail in the coffin”, GB News's Entertainment Editor Alex Davis has warned, after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced their shock decision to quit the hit BBC show.
Speaking on the People's Channel, Alex said "everybody is completely blown away" by the presenters’ joint departure, describing it as the end of an era for one of Britain’s best-loved programmes.
The BBC confirmed the decision was entirely Tess and Claudia’s, with Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips saying: "I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but it’s the end of an era.
"With Tess and Claudia’s decision to bid farewell to the Strictly ballroom, I understand why they’ve decided it’s time to hang up the glitterball and get their weekends back.”
Alex Davis said it is a 'end of an era'
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In her own statement, Ms Winkleman described her on-screen connection with Tess Daly as "the greatest relationship of my career” and the show as "a magical, glittery, fake talent train".
She added: "I’ve always believed it’s best to leave a party before you’re fully ready to go and I know the new hosts will be magnificent."
Alex said: “I don’t know whether this is the final nail in the coffin for Strictly, but quite a few names have already been bandied about.
"My inbox today has been full of press releases from bookmakers suggesting who might take over.
"Names like Kevin Clifton and Stacey Dooley have come up they won the series in 2018, went on to strike up a romance and now have a child together.
"Stacey Dooley is a very popular BBC presenter, so she may seem like a safe choice.
"Alex Jones and Gethin Jones have both got history with Strictly they both competed on the show.
"Alex now presents The One Show, and Gethin fronts Morning Live. Both are very popular at the BBC.
The duo paired a heartfelt statement on Instagram on Thursday morning | PA"Other names being mentioned include Rylan, who previously took part in Strictly and is being tipped as a possible candidate, and GK Barry, who now appears on Loose Women after her stint on I’m a Celebrity.
"And if the BBC wanted to continue the all-female presenting partnership, they could look to It Takes Two hosts Fleur East and Janette Manrara.
"But as I say, no decisions have been made it’s all very much up in the air.
"From the sounds of it, everyone’s been taken aback by Claudia and Tess’s decision to leave.”
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Ms Daly said the programme’s team was "the very best in television" and thanked the "wonderful audience".
"They’ve been with us for this entire journey of 21 years, and we wouldn’t have a show without them, and they’ve been just so loyal and supportive," she added.
The pair said the current series is the "best" one yet and revealed plans for their own last dance.
"We can’t wait to do that show dance that we have long dreamt of," Ms Daly said.
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