Tess Daly has revealed an interesting piece of Strictly Come Dancing trivia ahead of her final hosting stint at the ballroom this weekend. The presenter has fronted all 23 series of the BBC juggernaut since it started in 2004, and tonight she lifted the lid on a behind-the-scenes secret.
Speaking to Clara Amfo and Alex Jones on The One Show, the presenter - who fronts Strictly with Claudia Winkleman, who is also leaving - was looking ahead to the moment she'll crown the champions for the last time.
When Clara said viewers will miss "seeing you cling to those [cue] cards", Tess let slip that those final cards actually have nothing on them.
"Often, the cards are blank," she explained. "The winner's name isn't on it. We haven't had time to fill it in! We've got the result, and myself and Claud, we're cantering into position, in the heels, always running, on the floor, ready to reveal the winner.
"And often it's coming into my earpiece at the very last second and I'm very nervous in case it doesn't come! Everyone's got bated breath. And live, our lovely producer is telling me who the winner is."
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She added: "I've had 23 series over 21 years, 23 champions have been fed into that ear. Thankfully I've never got it wrong. It's a lot of pressure!"
Laughing over the possibility that those might be famous last words, she joked: "I shouldn't have said that, should I!"
While Tess and Claudia will be seen fronting the Strictly Christmas Special on 25 December, that episode was pre-recorded last week. Saturday's finale will mark their last hurrah on the famous dancefloor.
Looking ahead to when they will sign-off after the Glitterball Trophy has been handed out, Tess said: "I thought to myself, we’ll both be thinking about that moment, because it can be mayhem when you’re finding out who’s the winner... and then we’ll go into our last link, and it’s about them [the contestants].
Related: Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Carney and Carlos Gu tease "genius" showdance twist
"But if I catch Claudia’s eye I might go, because it’s the last time and I love her to bits and we’ve had the most amazing time together on the show. It’s just been wonderful."
The finalists this year are influencer George Clarke, footballer Karen Carney, and stage star Amber Davies; dancing with Alexis Warr, Carlos Gu and Nikita Kuzmin respectively.
While speculation over Tess and Claudia's successors has been rife, an announcement is not expected until 2026.
The final of Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 7pm on Saturday, 20 December.
The One Show airs weeknights at 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.
