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Strictly's Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly react to King's Birthday Honours MBEs
Strictly's Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly react to King's Birthday Honours MBEs
The Strictly Come Dancing presenters have been recognised for their work in British broadcasting spanning two decades
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly
(Image: 2018 Getty Images )
TV presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly have both been made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to broadcasting, as part of the King's Birthday Honours list.
Claudia , 53, said she was 'incredibly grateful' to receive the honour and dedicated it to the teams she has worked with throughout her career. She said: 'I am incredibly grateful to receive this honour.
"It's a real privilege to work with extraordinarily talented people and I've only got this because of them." For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter
"So this is for the BBC, the traitors and the faithful, for pianos and for the cha cha. I will buy a hat and am taking my mum. I'm ridiculously lucky and will celebrate with Tess by doing a paso doble.'
Claudia studied history of art at Cambridge University before launching a career in broadcasting. She has hosted a wide range of television and radio shows, including Comic Relief, The Great British Sewing Bee and Claudia on Sunday on BBC Radio 2.
She joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, initially presenting the weekday spin-off It Takes Two.
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In 2014, she became the main co-host alongside Tess following Sir Bruce Forsyth's departure.
In recent years, she has fronted the hit BBC game show The Traitors, winning a BAFTA for best entertainment performance in 2023.
She is due to present its celebrity spin-off later this year. Claudia also presents The Piano on Channel 4, alongside musicians Mika and Jon Batiste and she is also a trustee of the British Museum and a patron of Child Bereavement UK.
Tess, 56, said the MBE came as "the greatest surprise" of her life, revealing the letter had almost gone astray after being sent to the wrong address.
She told the PA News Agency: "This genuinely came as the greatest surprise of my life. I don't think I've come back down to earth yet, I didn't see it coming, and it almost didn't happen, because the letter went to the wrong address.
"And thank goodness, someone very kind found me. And so by the time I got it, I only had, I think it was two or three days left to accept it. There's a deadline of acceptance. I can't imagine not ever wanting to accept such a wonderful award. But of course I did.
"But yes, it was cutting it fine, because it went to the wrong address first of all, but it ended well.'
She added: "I cried when I opened the letter, because I just I couldn't believe it.
"I genuinely couldn't, and the first thing I wanted to do was tell my dad, because I lost my dad many years ago, and I know how proud my dad would have been, and I would love to have shared that news with him more than anything.
"He would been incredibly proud in a very Northern, humble fashion. Because you're under strict instructions, of course, not to share the news before it's made public. But I must admit, I did tell immediate members of my family and swore them to secrecy."
Tess has co-hosted Strictly Come Dancing since its launch in 2004. She began her career as a model before making her television debut in 1999, hosting a modelling competition on The Big Breakfast.
She went on to present programmes such as Home On Their Own, Back To Reality and National Television Awards coverage.
She presented Strictly alongside Sir Bruce Forsyth until 2014, then continued to host the show with Claudia.
Together they led the 20th anniversary series in 2023 and won a BAFTA TV Award for best entertainment programme in 2024.
Outside of Strictly, Tess has co-hosted BBC Children in Need with Sir Terry Wogan and fronted a BBC documentary looking at the history of broadcasting in Manchester.
She and her husband, presenter Vernon Kay, have been patrons of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity since 2007.
In 2023, she released a lifestyle book titled 4 Steps: To A Happier, Healthier You.
Reflecting on her career, Tess said: "I love that for the last 20 years our only agenda has been joy. It's just feel-good entertainment, and being a part of that has felt like a gift.
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"Broadcasting is a collective effort and I've been lucky to work with some of the best people in the business.
"From working with Bruce at the start to becoming the first all-female prime-time presenting duo with Claudia, it's been a special journey. That meant a lot to me as a mother of girls, to show that it could be done."
