As she returned to It Takes Two on Thursday, Janette Manrara addressed Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman's decision to leave Strictly Come Dancing. Praising the dynamic duo, Janette, who has emerged as a frontrunner for the co-hosting position, reflected on their long-running history with the programme. "Tess has presented the show since its very first episode alongside the legendary Sir Bruce [Forsyth]," Janette began. "Claudia originally presented our show before moving over to host the results show alongside Tess in 2010.
© Getty"They've both presented the main show and the results show together since 2014," she continued. "Ladies, we are going to miss you both so much! But, luckily, we still have them for what promises to be the rest of a brilliant series and the Christmas special!"
Janette, who first joined Strictly as a professional dancer in 2013, had already spoken about Tess and Claudia's departure on Instagram, after posing a throwback photo of the pair.
"So sad to see the news that @claudiawinkle and @tessdaly have announced they're stepping down as @bbcstrictly hosts, she penned in the caption.
"Working with them over the past 12 years has been so much fun, and they have always been extremely supportive and incredible to be around. Watching them has been immensely inspiring for me. I'm going to say the same as @aljazskorjanec here, as he put it in such beautiful words, Sir Bruce would have been so proud of how beautifully they have carried on his legacy. They'll always be part of the Strictly family. #keepdancing ladies! Thank you for the iconic memories!"
Why are Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly leaving Strictly?
Addressing fans in a video shared on Instagram this week, Claudia and Tess said the "time is right" to "step aside" and pass the baton on. Expanding on their decision in the caption, Claudia and Tess wrote: "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.
© BAFTA via Getty Images"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."
Who will replace the pair?
While the BBC is yet to confirm a replacement, fans have already begun to speculate online. Just hours after Claudia and Tess confirmed their exit, Janette was named as a frontrunner alongside Zoe Ball, Fleur East, Holly Willoughby, Stacey Dooley, Kevin Clifton and Rylan Clark. Looks like we'll have to wait and see!
© BBC/Ray BurmistonIn the meantime, Claudia and Tess will continue to host series 23 of Strictly, followed by the annual Christmas special, which is typically pre-recorded before airing on BBC One on 25 December.
Strictly Come Dancing will return for Icons Week on Saturday 25 October at 6:20pm.
