Tess Daly admits she is “in denial” about a huge recent change to her home life with Vernon Kay as the Strictly Come Dancing presenter announced she is standing down from the BBC show
Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly tearfully admitted that she’s “in denial” about a big change in her home life with Vernon Kay in recent years.
The TV star, 56, shocked the entertainment industry last week when she made a joint announcement with Claudia Winkleman that the pair will quit Strictly after the current series ends.
It will allow her to spend more time with her family – husband Vernon Kay and daughters Phoebe, 21, and 16-year-old Amber.
The couple’s eldest daughter Phoebe has already left home to study film and television at university, and Tess revealed she is “in denial” about her eldest flying the nest.
Speaking to Hello!, she said: “It’s hard to imagine them not being around. I genuinely think they’re going to be (at home) until they’re 30. I can’t imagine them leaving, but that probably says more about me because I don’t want them to go.
“I’d probably be weeping in the corner, missing them so much, because they’re my best friends.”
Tess has been a constant on BBC show Strictly, presenting the reality show since its first series aired in 2004.
She said that despite her incredibly successful career, she “loves being a mum” and “it’s what’s defined me for the past 20 years”.
The presenter also joked that she would not be joining Claudia Winkleman on The Traitors because she “might not be very good” and has “the world’s worst poker face”.
Tess and Claudia’s last Strictly episode will air on Christmas Day with the annual Christmas special.
Claudia revealed that the pals formulated their plan to quit Strictly together years ago. She refuted the idea that fans wanted her to stay forever, saying: “I don’t think anybody would want that.
“I am sure people watching would go ‘Can that small orange creature just shuffle off?’ Tess and I will leave at the same time. We made that pact over pizza. I had pepperoni.”
While Tess has presented Strictly since 2004, Claudia began by presenting spin-off show It Takes Two. She moved on to presenting the results show in 2010 before replacing the legendary Sir Bruce Forsyth four years later.
The pair’s joint statement, released last Thursday (October 23), said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.
“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.
“We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’ but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”