Claudia Winkleman's Biography

Who is Claudia Winkleman?

Claudia Winkleman, whose mother, Eve Pollard, is the ex-editor of the Sunday Express and Sunday Mirror, has presented a number of programmes for the BBC.

In April 2006 expectant mother Claudia Winkleman hosted The House Of Tiny Tearaways with Dr Tanya Byron.

Winkleman, who used to host Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two for BBC2, went on to co-host Strictly Come Dancing itself on BBC1. Her other presenting credits include Film 2014 and Holiday for BBC1; Toilets for BBC Choice; and Liquid News and Fame Academy for BBC3.

In 2009 Claudia Winkleman replaced Angus Deayton as host of ITV's Hell's Kitchen.

In school holidays as a teenager, Claudia Winkleman was a waitress at Maria's Coffee Lounge in North West London.

The art history graduate from Cambridge University also presented BBC2's Art School.

In previous incarnations Claudia Winkleman has been a travel writer for Metro and had a stint on Live TV.

Claudia's interview with the Liquid News website revealed that she fancied Paul Merton and Jeremy Paxman.

"Winkleman lives in Maida Vale with her husband, PR guru Kris Thykier - Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's ex, Matthew Freud's best man and Guy Ritchie's shooting partner".

In 2007 Claudia Winkleman co-presented with Patrick Kielty Comic Relief does Fame Academy on BBC One. It was a step up for Claudia, who in the previous series did the presenting job on BBC Three.

In March 2010, the BBC announced that Claudia Winkleman would be presenting their flagship movie programme Film 2010 on BBC One.

In 2010 the BBC announced that Claudia Winkleman would take over from Bruce Forsyth as co-host with Tess Daly of Strictly Come Dancing's Sunday results show.

In 2011, Winkleman continued to co-host the Sunday results of Strictly, but was replaced by Zoe Ball as the presenter of Strictly Come Dancing It Takes Two because of maternity leave.

In March 2015, Claudia Winkleman was named best entertainment presenter at the Royal Television Society Awards, after she took a full-time role on Strictly Come Dancing when Sir Bruce Forsyth stepped down.

She had a break in presenting during the 2015 series after her daughter was rushed to hospital after being burned in an accident during Halloween.

In 2017, she was nominated for a BAFTA for best entertainment performance.

In June 2017, the BBC announced that it had commissioned a new series The Makeover Show presented by Claudia Winkleman.

In July 2017, the BBC revealed that Claudia Winkleman was its highest paid female presenter, earning over £450,000 from licence fee revenue in their financial year 2016/7.

On 1 August 2017, the BBC announced that it had commissioned a new cookery competition with the working title Britain's Best Home Cook, which would be presented by Claudia Winkleman.

The first episode was broadcast in May 2018 and featured Mary Berry as the head judge.

In 2020, for the third series it became Celebrity Best Home Cook.

In the same year she wrote the book Quite.

In November 2020, it was revealed that Claudia Winkleman would take over from Graham Norton on Radio 2's Saturday morning show from February 2021.

In 2022, she became the host of a new BBC series, The Traitors.

In 2023, she was host of the new Channel Four series The Piano.

In November 2023, it was announced that Romesh Ranganathan would take over the 10:00 to 13:00 slot on Radio 2 from Claudia in March 2024.

Trivia
Claudia Winkleman's half-sister Sophie, now formally known as Lady Frederick Windsor, married Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009, the son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

Back to Top