Meet Claudia Winkleman’s daughter Matilda Thykier: Strictly host’s rarely seen child, 19, is a TikTok loving chemistry student who suffered horrific burns as a child when her Halloween costume went up in flames

Claudia Winkleman shocked fans when she announced she was leaving Strictly Come Dancing on Thursday after a 12-year break.

While Claudia’s rarely seen daughter, Matilda Thykier, would no doubt be thrilled to spend more time with her mother, she is unlikely to follow in her showbiz footsteps.

Matilda, 19, who the presenter shares with husband Kris Thykier, is a chemistry student at the University of Bath who loves TikTok.

She suffered horrific burns in 2014, aged eight, when her Halloween costume burst into flames, traumatizing her mother.

Fast forward 11 years and Matilda is now loving life as a second-year college student.

Speaking about her daughter’s intelligence, Claudia previously said: grazia: ‘She is a very smart girl.

While Claudia’s rarely seen daughter would be thrilled to spend more time with her mother, she’s unlikely to follow in her showbiz footsteps

‘He sends me some of his work. I’m like ‘What? How? Forgive?’

Matilda not only has brains, but also looks; He has around 4,000 followers on Instagram.

On her page, she regularly shares photos of fun nights out with friends and travels.

Just like her adventurous mother, she spent three months in Copenhagen over the summer.

She also has nearly 10,000 followers on TikTok, where she occasionally posts a clip lip-syncing to a viral song.

Claudia has previously described Matilda’s horror as a “life-changing” moment for her.

While the family was going trick-or-treating, Matilda was wearing a witch costume when she approached a candle at a neighbor’s house.

Speaking about the injury for the first time, the presenter recalled to BBC Watchdog: ‘I was talking to someone and then I heard her scream.

Matilda, 19, who the presenter shares with husband Kris Thykier, is a second-year chemistry student at the University of Bath

In 2014, when she was eight years old, she suffered horrific burns when her Halloween costume burst into flames.

Her traumatized mother Claudia campaigned against the dangers of these highly flammable clothing and spoke about it on the BBC’s Watchdog program at the time.

Fast forward 11 years and Matilda is now loving life as a college student in her second year

‘He just yelled ‘Mom’ and I turned around and that’s it, he was just on fire.

‘Everyone was screaming. She was screaming, all the kids there were screaming… It felt like she was burning for hours, but the surgeon said that was definitely not the case and that it was probably only seconds.

‘But he went up, that’s the only way I know how to put it. ‘It was unlike any fire I had ever seen before.’

Claudia continued: ‘We couldn’t put it out. We couldn’t extinguish it; If your shirt catches fire or there’s something I can put out. Thanks to the tights… they came back to life.

‘It was like those terrible birthday candles that blow out and then come back.’

Speaking about the severity of Matilda’s burns, he added: ‘It’s life-changing but it’s not life-defining. It was absolutely life changing for me. ‘I don’t remember life before that.’

Despite being one of the UK’s most in-demand presenters, Claudia has managed to stay out of the limelight as she rarely discusses her family.

Claudia is also mother to Kris’ son Jake, 21, and Arthur, 13.

Being with her three children seems to be at the top of her priority list, as she has expressed a desire to spend more time with them over the years.

Speaking previously about her daughter’s intelligence, Claudia said: ‘She is a very smart girl. ‘He sends me some of his work. I’m like ‘What? How? Forgive?’

Matilda not only has the brains, she also has the looks; He has around 4,000 followers on Instagram.

In March 2024, Claudia left the BBC Radio 2 show to spend more time with her family.

She said at the time: ‘Time goes by so fast, my daughter is getting ready to leave home and about five minutes ago she was three.

‘I still have a little boy who wants to be with me; ‘I don’t know how long this will last and I just need to stay at home more.’

It looks like Matilda will be able to spend even more time with her famous mum after announcing her departure from Strictly.

Claudia and co-host Tess Daly agreed to leave the show nearly a year ago after a series of heart-to-heart conversations.

The star, who also presented BBC’s The Traitors and its spin-off series Celebrity Traitors, and Tess, who first joined the series in 2004, were sitting side by side in the clip confirming their separation.

Speaking to the camera, Claudia began: ‘There was some noise and we want you to hear it from us.’

Tess chimed in: ‘We’ve got news, after 21 wonderful and joyful years Absolutely, we’ve decided it’s time to step aside and pass the baton.’

It looks like Matilda will be able to spend even more time with her famous mum after announcing her departure from Strictly on Thursday (Claudia pictured with co-host Tess Daly)

‘Very sparkly baton!’ Claudia laughed and turned to her co-star and friend, adding: ‘You’ve been here from the beginning.’

Tess replied, pointing at Claudia: ‘With Bruce, lovely Bruce [Forsyth]and that was over twenty years ago but most of that time was spent with you.

‘Our kids have been a huge part of our lives since they were literally babies in our arms, now they’re adults, and I think we’ve really cherished every second.’

Claudia continued: ‘We’re so lucky to be a part of this amazing show and we’d like to thank the Strictly team because Strictly are the people who make it.’

The duo wrote under the video: ‘We loved working as a duo and it was an absolute dream to host.

‘We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We’re looking forward to watching the rest of this amazing series and we’d like to say a huge thank you to the BBC and everyone who worked on the programme.

‘They are the brightest team and we will miss them every day. We’ll cry the last time we say ‘keep dancing’, but we’ll keep saying it to each other.

‘Probably at home in his tracksuit bottoms, holding a pizza.’