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Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented ''
Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
. Since 2010, she has co-presented ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
''s main results show on Sunday nights with
Tess Daly
Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014.
...
on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
and since 2014 has been a main co-host alongside Daly on the Saturday night live shows, following the departure of Sir
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...
. She has twice been nominated for the
for her work on ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Winkleman was also the presenter of the BBC's ''
Film...'', replacing
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
after his move to
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
in 2010. She was the co-presenter of ''
Let's Sing and Dance
''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programm ...
'' for its first two series with
Steve Jones. From 2013 and 2016 she presented the BBC Two series ''
The Great British Sewing Bee
''The Great British Sewing Bee'' is a BBC reality show that began airing on BBC Two on 2 April 2013. In the show, talented amateur sewers compete to be named "Britain's best home sewer". A spin-off of the format of ''The Great British Bake Off ...
''. In 2022, Winkleman fronted the BBC reality show ''
The Traitors''.
Her trademark appearance includes heavy eyeliner and black hair with a characteristic
fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
; she has said "I don't think I'd have a career if I didn't have a fringe".
Early life and education
Winkleman was born in London to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family and she has no full siblings. Her parents divorced when she was three, both remarrying four years later. Her mother,
Eve Pollard
Evelyn, Lady Lloyd, (''née'' Pollard, formerly Winkleman, born 25 December 1943) is an English author and journalist, and has been the editor of several tabloid newspapers.
Early life and education
Pollard was born in Paddington, London.BB ...
, married
Nicholas Lloyd
Sir Nicholas Markley Lloyd (born 9 June 1942) is a former British newspaper editor and broadcaster.
Early life
Nicholas Markley Lloyd was born on 9 June 1942 in Luton, Bedfordshire, the son of Walter and Sybil Lloyd. He was educated at Bed ...
, becoming Lady Lloyd in 1990. Winkleman's father later married
children's author
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
Cindy Black.
Winkleman's half-sister from her father's second marriage is actress
Sophie Winkleman
Sophie Lara Winkleman (born 5 August 1980) is an English actress. She is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince Michael of Kent, a paternal cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
Early life
Winkleman was born in Primrose Hill, London. He ...
, who is married to
Lord Frederick Windsor
Lord Frederick Michael George David Louis Windsor (born 6 April 1979) is a British financial analyst, and the only son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. He is married to British actress Sophie Winkleman. He is currently 52nd in the line o ...
. She also has a half-brother, Oliver Lloyd, from her mother's second marriage. Raised in
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...
, London, Winkleman was educated at the
City of London School for Girls
(''O Lord Direct us'')
, established = 1894
, closed =
, type = Independent day school
, religion =
, president =
, head_label = Headmistress
, head = Jenny Brown
, r_head_label = ...
and
New Hall, Cambridge
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...
, obtaining a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in
Art History
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
.
Television career
1991–2000
In 1992, she began appearing frequently in the long-running
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series ''
Holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
'', and this continued throughout the mid-1990s. This culminated in a special documentary in which she travelled around the world for 34 days reporting from Japan, India, Costa Rica and Dubai. Throughout this period, she appeared as a reporter on other shows, particularly ''
This Morning'' interviewing various
celebrities
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
. During the late 1990s, Winkleman presented a number of programmes on smaller
digital channels
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
. She had a stint on the cable channel
L!VE TV
L!VE TV was a British television station that was operated by Mirror Group Newspapers on cable television from 12 June 1995 until 5 November 1999. It was later revived for Sky from 2003. In 2006, L!VE TV's name was changed to Babeworld to r ...
, but soon left to pursue other projects. In 1996, Winkleman hosted
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
programmes ''
God's Gift
''God's Gift'' is a 2006 direct to video American drama film directed by Master P produced, and distributed by Guttar Music Entertainment.
Synopsis
The film is based on boxing, and Romeo's struggle with God and school. It also shows his strugg ...
'' (taking over from
Davina McCall
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's '' ...
) and ''Pyjama Party'' (co-hosted with
Katie Puckrik
Katie Puckrik (born July 12, 1962) is an American broadcaster and newspaper columnist. Born in Virginia, Puckrik is best known for hosting British youth magazine shows '' The Word'' and ''The Sunday Show'' in the 1990s. She also created and ho ...
and Michelle Kelly).
Winkleman also presented a number of
gameshows including the dating show ''Three's a Crowd'', LWT show ''
Talking Telephone Numbers
''Talking Telephone Numbers'' is a British game show that aired on ITV from 28 February 1994 to 29 December 1997 and was hosted by Phillip Schofield and initially Emma Forbes, who was later replaced by Claudia Winkleman. The show's format featu ...
'', the second series of Granada TV show ''God's Gift'' and ''Fanorama''. In 1997 she was the co-host of children's Saturday morning TV show
''Tricky''. She was also an occasional team captain on a gameshow called ''
HeadJam
''HeadJam'' is a BBC television game show hosted by Vernon Kay. It originally aired during the summer of 2004 on BBC Three, with a repeat soon afterwards on BBC Two.
It features two teams, each consisting of a member of the public and a celebr ...
'', hosted by
Vernon Kay
Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English television and radio presenter, and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including ''All Star Family Fortunes'' (2 ...
.
2001–2006
Winkleman's first major television job was in 2001, on the regional discussion programme ''
Central Weekend''. Between 2002 and 2004, Winkleman began her first daily TV role when she hosted the
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
Entertainment update show ''
Liquid News
''Liquid News'' was a daily round up of entertainment news for BBC Three (and before that BBC Choice) running from 30 May 2000 to 1 April 2004. The show was also broadcast weekly on BBC One and internationally on BBC Prime and BBC America.
The p ...
'', taking over from
Christopher Price on the now defunct
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, as well as the BBC's second non-analogue-terres ...
. She shared the presenting duties with
Colin Paterson
Colin Paterson (born 1974) is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster who is an Arts and Entertainment correspondent for the BBC and has been a presenter and reporter on BBC Three's ''Liquid News''.
Early life
He attended the independent Hutcheson ...
, and later
Paddy O'Connell
Guy Patrick O'Connell (born 11 March 1966 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English television and radio presenter, working mainly for the BBC. He presents BBC Radio 4's ''Broadcasting House'' programme each Sunday morning. He is also an occasional ...
. The show featured celebrity interviews.
In 2003, ''
Fame Academy
''Fame Academy'' was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise ''Star Academy'' known under va ...
'' appointed Winkleman to present a daily update show on
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
, in conjunction with its second series. She repeated the show in 2005 for the much shorter celebrity version ''
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy''. Also in 2005, Winkleman co-hosted ''
The House of Tiny Tearaways'', a BBC Three reality TV show. She also began hosting ''
Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'', a supplementary programme to ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', taking over from
Justin Lee-Collins.
Winkleman then presented several more
reality shows
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
including ''End of Story'', and ''Art School''.
2007–2012
Winkleman presented many prime time programmes. In 2007, she took over from
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter and actress. From 1998 to 2002, she hosted the ITV children's show ''SMTV Live,'' for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' C ...
as the main host for the third series of ''
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy'', co-hosting with
Patrick Kielty
Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a Northern Irish comedian and television personality.
Background
Kielty was born in County Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the village of Dundrum. He is one of three sons born to the businessm ...
. She co-hosted the inaugural
Eurovision Dance Contest 2007
The Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 was the inaugural edition of the Eurovision Dance Contest, a dance competition co-production between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster BBC. The first ever pan-European dance competition wa ...
alongside
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...
for
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
in September of that year and again in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. She co-presented the UK selection process for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcas ...
called ''
Eurovision: Your Decision'', this time accompanied by Eurovision stalwart
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...
. In March 2008, Winkleman rekindled her partnership with Kielty when the pair hosted the final leg of ''
Sport Relief 2008''.
In 2007, Winkleman was the face of
Sky Movie Premiere's coverage of the
79th Academy Awards
The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...
, repeating it for the
80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...
in 2008. The show was broadcast live in conjunction with the ceremony itself, running right through the night into the early hours of the morning. Winkleman has made many guest appearances on panel and talk shows, including: ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...
'', ''
Would I Lie to You?'', ''
Have I Got News for You'', ''
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme features Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show) ...
'' and ''
Lily Allen and Friends
''Lily Allen and Friends'' is a British TV talk show presented by Lily Allen. The programme was produced by Princess Productions for BBC Three. It was first shown on 12 February 2008.
The audience consists entirely of Lily's online friends, who ...
''. In February 2008, she appeared on the British version of the comedy improvisational show ''
Thank God You're Here
''Thank God You're Here'' is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons and on Seven for the fourth season.
Each ...
'', hosted by
Paul Merton
Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter.
Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and someti ...
.
Winkleman narrated the 2008
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
show ''Glamour Girls'', a documentary series about
glamour modelling
Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in erotic poses ranging from fully clothed to nude. The term may be a euphemism for erotic photography. For glamour models, body shape and size are directly relate ...
in Britain.
In March 2009, Winkleman was announced as the host of the new series of ''
Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...
'' on
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
. She fronted the nightly show live from the restaurant in East London in its fourth series in the spring. On 14 November 2009, she appeared on the main show of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' to present backstage, due to main presenter
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...
being on sick leave. She co-hosted the show with
Tess Daly
Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014.
...
and guest presenter
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...
.
On 29 March 2010, she was named as one of the new co-presenters of ''
the Film programme
''The Film Programme'' was a British film review radio programme, broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 4, from 2004 to 2021, presented by Francine Stock.
The programme had a number of regular contributors, including Neil Brand and Rosemary Fletcher.
...
'', replacing
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
. ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' stated, through her recent hosting of Sky Television's coverage of
The Oscars
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, Winkleman had "proved both a passionate and engaging advocate of cinema", while her husband Kris Thykier is a film producer with credits on several mainstream releases.
2013–present
On 2 April 2013, Winkleman began presenting the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
sewing competition ''
The Great British Sewing Bee
''The Great British Sewing Bee'' is a BBC reality show that began airing on BBC Two on 2 April 2013. In the show, talented amateur sewers compete to be named "Britain's best home sewer". A spin-off of the format of ''The Great British Bake Off ...
'', until 2016. The show went off air for 2017, but was brought back in 2018, with
Joe Lycett
Joe Harry Lycett, also known by the self-given moniker Mummy, is an English comedian, painter and television presenter. Known for his sardonically camp style, whimsical public stunts and elaborate set designs, Lycett has been described as one ...
replacing Winkleman as presenter.
In 2015, she appeared on ''
The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz''. In May 2015, she appeared on an episode of ''
Watchdog
Watchdog or watch dog may refer to:
Animals
*Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence
* Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed
* Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet U ...
'' on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
in which she discussed, during a segment on dangerous Halloween costumes, that the previous year her daughter had been badly burned when the costume she was wearing caught fire. In November 2016, Winkleman presented the one-off BBC special ''Bublé at the BBC'' with
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...
.
From 2018, she presented ''
Britain's Best Home Cook
''Best Home Cook'' (previously ''Britain's Best Home Cook'') is a competitive cooking show produced by KEO Films and distributed internationally by Endemol Shine Group. It premiered on BBC One in May 2018, presented by Claudia Winkleman, with j ...
'' and ''The Makeover Show'' for
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. In May 2018, Winkleman co-presented ''The Biggest Weekend'' on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
and
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
.
''Strictly Come Dancing''
''
Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' was devised as a companion show to run conjoined with the
second series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', and continues to run to date. It follows a similar format to the one Winkleman made popular on ''Fame Academy'', and sees the presenter deliberating and dissecting the ins and outs of the main competition, accompanied by an array of dance experts, assorted guests and the competitors themselves. The show is aired every weekday at 6:30 pm on BBC Two throughout the course of the series.
''Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' was originally hosted by Winkleman since its inception. In 2011, former contestant
Zoe Ball
Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...
took over as host from Winkleman.
In 2010, Winkleman became co-host of the Sunday night results show of ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', presenting alongside
Tess Daly
Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014.
...
. In 2014, Winkleman's role on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' expanded to presenting the main show, following the departure of
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...
.
Writing
Winkleman started her journalism career as a
travel writer
The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs.
One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern period ...
, writing columns about her various worldwide excursions. She did so in ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' and ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', but also contributed to the free daily London paper ''
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
'' in a similar capacity. As her television career and family evolved, she travelled less, and began to write more general work, opinion-led lifestyle journalism about womanhood, sex and relationships. She wrote for ''
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'' and ''
Tatler
''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...
'' amongst others. Between 2005 and 2008, she wrote a regular weekly column for ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' called ''Take It From Me''.
Radio work
In April and May 2008, Winkleman hosted a six-part comedy quiz series taking a humorous look into the week's celebrity gossip, called ''Hot Gossip''. The show was broadcast on a Saturday afternoon on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
; points were awarded to those who dished out dirt. The show featured many famous pundits, including
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
,
Phil Nichol
Phil Nichol is a Canadian comedian, singer-songwriter and actor.
Early life and career
Comedy
Nichol was born in Scotland to a Scottish mother, but raised in Canada. He first found fame as a member of the musical comedy trio Corky and the Juice ...
,
Jo Caulfield
Josephine Caulfield (born 26 September 1965) is a British actress, writer and comedian.
Biography
Born in Wales to Irish parents, she was brought up in Derbyshire and Leicestershire, England.
At 17, Caulfield moved to London. For two years sh ...
,
Rufus Hound
Rufus Hound (born Robert James Blair Simpson 6 March 1979) is an English actor, comedian and presenter.
Early life
Hound was born on 6 March 1979, in Essex and moved to Surrey at the age of seven. He was educated at Hoe Bridge School Woking ...
and
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
' brother,
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
.
She hosted a weekly show on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
every Friday night between 10pm and midnight called ''Claudia Winkleman's Arts Show'' consisting of interviews with people from the arts world, as well as reviews and debate. In July 2010, Winkleman sat in for
Dermot O'Leary
Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ''T ...
. She covered for
Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a British broadcaster who is best known for hosting his long-running weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 1986 to 1990, and then again since 1992.
Early life and career
Bruce was born a ...
on several occasions from 2012 until 2014.
In April 2016, she began presenting her own Sunday night show on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
called ''Claudia on Sunday'' from 7 to 9pm. In June 2017, Winkleman covered for ''
Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' from 2 to 5pm.
In 2020, ''Claudia on Sunday'' was displaced from the schedules and subsequently ended due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It was announced on 23 November 2020 that Winkleman had taken over the Saturday mid-morning slot on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
from
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...
.
Charity and other work
In 2007, she answered telephones at the
BT Tower
The BT Communication Tower is a grade II listed communications tower located in Fitzrovia, London, owned by BT Group. Originally named the Museum Radio Tower (after the adjacent Museum telephone exchange), it became better known by its unoff ...
for the
Disasters Emergency Committee
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella group of UK charities which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises aroun ...
in response to problems in
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
. In May 2007, she helped relaunch The National Missing Persons Campaign, and also supported a Christmas campaign by the charity
Refuge, which aimed to stop
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
.
In June 2008, Winkleman was featured in ''
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
'' magazine with no make-up on, as part of a stand against the excessive
airbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint but also ink and dye, and foundation. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is considered to employ a type of airbrush.
History
U ...
ing of prominent women, which she described as "pretty terrifying".
On 18 March 2011, Winkleman was one of the presenters of BBC's
Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
. In 2012, she was one of the judges and the host of the FilmNation shorts at the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
, which as part of the
Cultural Olympiad
An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...
for
London 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, encouraged young people aged 14–25 to get involved in film making.
Personal life
In June 2000, Winkleman married film producer Kris Thykier at
Marylebone Town Hall
Marylebone Town Hall, also known as the Westminster Council House, is a municipal building on Marylebone Road in Marylebone, London. The complex includes the council chamber, the Westminster Register Office and an educational facility known as t ...
. The couple have three children.
On 31 October 2014, Winkleman's then eight-year-old daughter was taken to hospital after being seriously injured when her
Halloween costume
Halloween costumes are costumes worn on Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. An early reference to wearing costumes at Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585, but they may pre-date this. There are many references to the custom during ...
caught fire. Winkleman stated that the costume brushed against a candle in a pumpkin. This incident prompted the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
to tighten the flame retardant standards of Halloween costumes.
Filmography
;Television
;Radio
References
External links
*
''Claudia Winkleman''(BBC Radio 2)
*
Claudia Winkleman's Independent column
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkleman, Claudia
1972 births
Living people
21st-century English women writers
Alumni of New Hall, Cambridge
BBC Radio 2 presenters
Strictly Come Dancing
English Jews
English journalists
English radio presenters
English television presenters
English women non-fiction writers
People educated at the City of London School for Girls
Jewish women writers
People from Hampstead
British women radio presenters