The ‘harsh’ truth about Tess Daly’s Strictly exit: Insiders tell KATIE HIND the REAL reason she is following Claudia off the dancefloor

When Tess Daly was asked to co-host the prime-time slot of a new BBC program called Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, she perhaps could not have imagined that she would still be at the helm of the show more than 20 years later.

It’s an impressive feat matched by very few female presenters, and testament to viewers’ fondness for the former model, whose easy relationship with the late Sir Bruce Forsyth was one of the show’s early highlights.

In fact, only Newsnight’s Kirsty Wark, That’s Life presenter Dame Esther Rantzen and Soccer AM’s Helen Chamberlain have come close to such a television milestone. So when rumors began to circulate that co-host Claudia Winkleman might quit the show after the runaway success of Traitors, it came as an understandable shock as chatter among industry insiders that there was ‘no Tess without Claudia’.

These harsh whispers inevitably reached Tess, I heard. And that meant that when she and Claudia started discussing a possible exit from the show a year ago, Tess already knew that if Claudia left, she too would have to jump ship.

‘Actually, Tess knew the BBC didn’t want her without Claudia, which felt a bit harsh,’ says my source. ‘Tess devoted over twenty years to the show and would essentially have been abandoned if she hadn’t gone along with it. It’s human nature to move forward, so he decided to agree with Claudia and they started making plans.

‘There aren’t many nice things being said about Tess on social media.

‘But it’s impressive when someone hosts a show for this long, especially when it’s one of the most watched shows on television.’

This prompted the two women to record their farewell video, which surprised the BBC and stunned the programme’s millions of viewers. The clip, published on their Instagram account last month, revealed that they would definitely break up at the end of the series.

Claudia married a wealthy public relations man who had become a successful film producer, while Tess chose Bolton-born former model Vernon Kay.

Claudia, 53, said: ‘Hi, I’m Claud and Tess. There have been some rumors and we want you to hear it from us.’

Tess, 56, added: ‘We’ve got news. After 21 absolutely wonderfully joyous years, we’ve decided it’s time to step aside and pass the baton.

‘I really think we appreciate every second.’

It may be so. But behind the platitudes was a stark message to BBC bosses; this was a sign that the two women were committed to each other.

‘Claudia is the most loyal friend you could ask for,’ one of the star’s colleagues said. ‘He’ll be there for his friends no matter what and vice versa, so that was the plan they came up with. And there was no way Claudia would ever want Tess to be made fun of.’

Those who know the women say they may not socialize much, but they have developed a real friendship despite their very different backgrounds.

Claudia, the daughter of former newspaper editor Eve Pollard and publisher Barry Winkleman, attended the £20,000-a-year City of London School for Girls before studying at Cambridge.

Tess, meanwhile, comes from more humble beginnings in Derbyshire, where her parents worked in a textile factory. While Claudia made her name on TV shows including Fame Academy and Holiday, Tess’ big break came when a modeling scout spotted her outside a McDonald’s in Manchester and, aged 21, she appeared nude in the video for The Beloved’s 1993 hit Sweet Harmony. “I cringe when I’m reminded of the video,” Tess said.

Claudia and Tess have been presenting Strictly Come Dancing for the last 21 years

Claudia married Kris Thykier, 53, a successful PR film producer, while Tess chose Bolton-born former model Vernon Kay. The couple, who have two daughters, met while presenting on children’s television and Vernon, 51, now hosts BBC Radio 2’s mid-morning programme. Although the official opinion is that they have definitely decided to leave together, the truth is that mother-of-three Claudia is now in more demand than Tess.

With his role as host to traitors (and other shows such as The Piano and The Great British Sewing Bee) proving iconic and ITV bosses circling him, it was only a matter of time before a new project caught his eye.

This project is said to be a new chat show produced by Graham Norton’s production company and airing next year. Claudia and her team were determined to keep this a secret; perhaps to prevent Tess from blushing if it turned out that Claudia had left her behind.

But I can say that plans are very much on track for the show, which faces the challenge of attracting the most stellar names possible in the global world of show business. Perhaps it’s a coincidence, then, that Claudia’s husband is an extremely well-connected Tinseltown producer. But she also has a best friend who is a Hollywood star in her own right: Friends actress Courteney Cox.

The two women are inseparable and although their friendship is not work-related, they are very supportive of each other’s careers. In fact, Claudia tried to lure the former Friends actor into Celebrity Traitors.

‘Courteney has been here a long time and knows everyone in Los Angeles,’ a source says. ‘She’s also a huge girl and of course will do whatever she can to help Claudia and her new special project.’

While Tess is excited for Claudia, where does that leave her?

Showbiz wants him to succeed.

Insiders have come forward to tell me how much they hope she’ll be given a role that will make her as happy as Strictly.

She also has several side projects, including a successful swimwear line, Naia Beach, and has deals with Marks & Spencer and vitamin company Vitabiotics. There are also reports that the BBC will give Tess a new programme.

The Strictly insider says: ‘Never thought it would last this long, so if you hear you’re going to be struggling, you know it’s time to go. But Tess is a grafter and a survivor.’