Strictly Come Dancing's former professional dancer Kevin Clifton has addressed the rumours tipping him and his partner, Stacey Dooley, to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as hosts of the BBC show. The shock news that Tess and Claudia would exit after 11 years of presenting came on Thursday last week, leaving fans wondering who could possibly fill their sparkling shoes. Addressing the speculation, Kevin appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain, where he joked with hosts Ed Balls and Charlotte Hawkins that Stacey would be perfect for the job.
Discussing Tess and Claudia's sad departure, Kevin teased: "It's the end of an era for them, and the start of the Ed and Charlotte era, isn't it?" To which Charlotte replied: "There's been talk about Stacey, talk about you as well, what do you make of all that?"
Kevin said: "Well, so I hear, yeah someone told me that."
When Ed deemed the couple would be "The dream team", Kevin replied: "I don't know about that. Stacey would be amazing. We've had no conversations about anything like that."
Kevin went on to explain that he and Stacey are currently balancing their busy schedules, with alternating grandmas stepping in to look after Minnie, their two-year-old daughter, while the couple star together in the West End show 2:22 A Ghost Story.
Later, when asked if he misses Strictly, Kevin admitted: "Not necessarily the workload, but I still love it. Me and Stacey are on the other side of it now, where we sit down like everyone else and watch it as fans. We're obsessed with Strictly, we've become like super fans."
Kevin first made his Strictly debut in 2013, when he was paired with journalist Susanna Reid. The couple reached the final but were beaten by model and TV host Abbey Clancy. He met Stacey in 2018, when they were partnered together – and went on to take home the Glitterball Trophy. They announced their relationship a few months later.
Tess and Claudia’s final appearance together will be in the Strictly Christmas special, which airs on Christmas Day. Their replacements have yet to be announced – but we’ll be keeping our ears to the ground.
