Strictly's Kevin Clifton reveals if he and Stacey Dooley will replace Tess and Claudia
Professional dancer Kevin Clifton has issued a response to rumours he would replace Claudia Winkelman and Tess Daly with his partner Stacey Dooley as Strictly Come Dancing hosts
Strictly Come Dancing's Kevin Clifton has responded to rumours he's set to take over from hosts Claudia Winkelman and Tess Daly with his partner Stacey Dooley. Claudia and Tess shocked fans last week when they announced they're leaving the BBC dance competition at the end of this series.
They made history as the first female presenting duo on primetime when they joined forces back in 2014. Tess has been part of Strictly from the very beginning when she hosted with Bruce Forsyth from 2004.
With their departures looming, rumours have started to swirl over who could taken over their impressive reign. Professional dancer Kevin has seen his name thrown into the ring along with his partner Stacey, who he met on the show.
Kevin quit Strictly in 2020, two years after he bagged the Glitterball trophy with TV presenter and documentary maker Stacey. The couple have continued to work together off the dancefloor, with them both currently starring in 2:22 A Ghost Story.
Stacey has seen her odds at 2/1 to present Strictly. Kevin has also thrown his support behind her as he said on Good Morning Britain : "Stace would be amazing."
However, he revealed: “But we have had no conversations about it.” Asked if he misses the show, Kevin said: “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.”
Tess and Claudia opened the show on Saturday night, where they spoke about their shock announcement. Tess began: "Just before we get started tonight, Claud and I announced this week that this will be our last series of Strictly Come Dancing."
As the audience clapped, Claudia continued: "We want to thank you for your beautiful messages. We've got another eight weeks on this incredible show and a Strictly champion to crown."
Tess concluded: "And we cannot wait to spend the rest of the series with you, with our amazing couples and these four [the judges]." The duo previously made a pact that they would always leave together and confirmed the news in a social media post on Thursday.
Other names that could take over Tess and Claudia include current contestant La Voix. La Voix even made her own plea during Saturday's show where she threw her own hat in the ring as a potential candidate.
The Drag Race UK star asked the host: "Claudia, while I’ve got you, do you know the address when you send your CV to the BBC? Just in case any new jobs are coming up. I'm just asking for a friend."
Claudia laughed as she grabbed La Voix's hand and led her over to the camera to take a turn, saying: "Give it a go, babe, let's do it now." La Voix then had a go at reading the autocue, simply saying: "Tess."
She then handed over to the main studio as the entire room burst into laughter. Yet, Strictly spin off It Takes Two hosts Janette Manrara and Fleur East are currently topping the bookies odds.
Stars including Roman Kemp, Zoe Ball, Hannah Waddingham, Rylan Clark, Emma Willis and Rose Ayling-Ellis are also among those rumoured to be in the running.
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