Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly has been a familiar face on our screens since she was 17, but many fans are unaware of the reason behind her real name
You know we’re heading towards Christmas when Strictly Come Dancing is back on our screens, in a flurry of fake tan and sequins. Battling it out this year are stars including Stefan Dennis, Thomas Skinner, Vicky Pattison and George Clarke – yet apparently some of them have been left fuming over their wildy-different wages.
Nevertheless, you can expect them to be pulling out all their best moves in front of the show’s much-loved judges including Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabusi, as well as co-hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
Tess has graced our screens since she was just 17. The 56 year old television personality launched her career as a model after being discovered outside a McDonald’s in Manchester whilst waiting for her sister. Yet Tess wasn’t always recognised by that moniker.
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Indeed, ‘Tess’ isn’t her genuine name but rather a professional alias, a revelation that has stunned viewers. Born in 1969 as Helen Elizabeth Daly, she embraced the name Tess upon beginning her modelling journey, though never officially altered it out of deference to her parents, Vivian and Sylvia.
She disclosed the motivation behind her name transformation, clarifying that when she commenced modelling at 17, there was already a Helen Davies at her agency. Consequently, she was recommended to abandon ‘Helen Daly’ owing to its resemblance. The name Tess was proposed by her agent who was “obsessed” with actress Nastassja Kinski, star of the 1979 film Tess.
Tess, who presents Strictly alongside Claudia Winkleman, remembered: “So Tess it was. I was gullible and impressionable. Mind you, two weeks later, I was in Japan, then I travelled the world Paris, Milan, New York,” reports OK! The television darling has admitted that only one person persistently adheres to her actual name, disclosing: “My mum’s really the only person who still calls me Helen, and that’s not often. She tends to call me ‘love’, so when she does say ‘Helen’ it can take me a while to respond.”
Tess confessed: “I’ve never changed it by deed poll or anything because I think it would be disrespectful to my parents.”
Fans were floored by the revelation, with one person sharing a shocked video on social media, saying: “Me after finding out that Tess Daly’s real name is Helen. Can’t look at her the same now, I feel lied to.”
Another said: “Been watching her since I was tiny and never knew.” A third added: “I have so many questions.”
Nevertheless, Tess and her husband BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay wed using her original surname back in 2003. The pair exchanged vows in a heartfelt ceremony in Vernon’s hometown of Bolton on September 12, 2003, and are doting parents to two girls, Phoebe and Amber.
Last year Tess shared her tips for maintaining her youthful appearance while acknowledging that wrinkles are simply a part of growing older. In a candid chat with Closer, she shared confessed, “I’ve got wrinkles galore. You know when you look down at your iPhone and the camera is open, and you go, ‘Oh my God!’ I’m at that point – but what’s the alternative?”.
Tess revealed she follows a specific skincare routine to maintain her youthful glow, admitting to wearing less makeup now than in her younger years, even on television.
Tess insists she’s never had cosmetic surgery but does splurge on skin treatments like Ultratherapy, which lifts and tightens the skin, starting at around £500.
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