Claudia Winkleman is set to front her own chat show on BBC One following her exit from Strictly Come Dancing, the broadcaster has confirmed.
The Claudia Winkleman Show will launch in spring 2026, comprising seven 50-minute episodes available on both BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
So Television, the company responsible for The Graham Norton Show, will produce the new programme.
Each episode will feature major names from cinema, television and music joining Ms Winkleman for conversations in front of a live studio audience.
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly featured in their final BBC Strictly episode in this year’s series conclusion
|
BBCGraham Stuart, So Television’s managing director and executive producer on the project, said: “Graham Norton has made the Friday night talk show slot a dazzling appointment to view. How can you possibly follow that? By booking a host equally as brilliant. So we have.”
Ms Winkleman responded to the announcement with characteristic modesty, saying: “I can’t quite believe it and I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for this amazing opportunity.
“I’m obviously going to be awful, that goes without saying, but I’m over the moon they’re letting me try.”
The corporation’s head of entertainment commissioning, Kalpna Patel-Knight, enthused: “Claudia is a true national treasure – warm, witty and endlessly entertaining,” Patel-Knight said.
Claudia Winkleman will front her own BBC chat show
|
BBCShe highlighted Ms Winkleman’s talent for making guests comfortable and drawing out their best qualities, whether they are international celebrities or audience members.
The BBC executive added that viewers can look forward to seeing Ms Winkleman alongside “her sofa full of stars” when the programme debuts.
The announcement comes after Ms Winkleman and Tess Daly confirmed in October that they would be stepping down from Strictly Come Dancing.
The pair had presented the flagship BBC dance competition together since 2014, building a partnership spanning more than a decade.
LATEST BBC DEVELOPMENTS
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have been involved in BBC Strictly since it debuted in 2004
|
BBCTheir final live appearance came during the 2025 series finale earlier this month, which saw Karen Carney and Carlos Gu lift the glitterball trophy.
The presenting due were last seen together on the Strictly stage during the pre-recorded Christmas special, which aired on Christmas Day.
Ms Daly, 56, had been part of the show since it launched in 2004, while Winkleman, 53, initially joined in 2004 as presenter of the companion programme It Takes Two before moving to the main show.
Ms Winkleman’s new venture builds on her remarkable recent success with The Traitors, which earned her the best entertainment performance prize at the 2023 Bafta TV Awards.
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman had both been part of the Strictly world since its launch 21 years ago
|
GETTYCelebrity Traitors proved to be the year’s biggest television hit, attracting a live audience exceeding 11 million viewers – the largest since the Gavin & Stacey special on Christmas Day 2024.
The presenter received an MBE in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours for her services to broadcasting.
Ms Winkleman gained experience in the chat show format earlier this year when she stood in for Graham Norton on his Friday night programme while he was in Australia.
Her new show will not replace Mr Norton’s, which has recently been renewed for three years, but will instead air during the spring months.
