Tess and Claudia leaving strictly!

[TheKeeperofBooks]

What!!! Is this true? Who will take over? I'm shocked!

Tess isn't playing a character. She absolutely cannot cope without an autocue (we've all seen it happen when things happen that she has to manage), is totally wooden even with an autocue and has no ability to be natural with anyone she's talking to on camera (watch her hands, her eyes, her movements and listen to the speech).

I've no idea why this is the case given she's been a prominent presenter for over 20years, but she is extraordinarily poor, especially at her level of the fame.

James Jordon on judging panel. Anton to present and AJ upstairs. Or Lisa Snowden. Or they could do Pointless and have a guest presenter upstairs.

Or as a joke Alan Partridge.

Somehow Tess's powerful physicality creates a really stilted demeanour. She is obviously incredibly fit and strong, but in her glam sleeveless evening wear her long arms, outstretched to usher dancers upstairs, make her look like an anxious praying mantis

Maybe have a swap with I’m a Celebrity? Ant and Dec on Strictly and Tess and Claudia in the Jungle…

Time for a change and will not be sorry to see Claudia go why does she need to have that crazy fringe can only think she has a very heavily lined brow.

Tess was good as a presenter on the show especially with Sir Bruce.

I think it’s going to be a challenge to get the right balance of presenters. Claudia has lent a really necessary bit of irreverence/humour (god bless Tess she doesn’t seem to have a funny bone in her body).

Please no pervy men presenters, I used to cringe every time Bruce complimented the women.

What about Mel and Sue? They must be free. Or Maya Jama and Victoria Coren Mitchell 😂

It'll be Stacey Dooley and someone.

I also think something has kicked off behind the scenes.

Oh pleacse not Alison Hammond!!!!! She is everywhere just lately and so awful I couldn't face her on this as well!!!

Alan Carr could be fun!!

I feel like that about most of the suggestions in this thread.

I will be sad to see them go, is it a coincidence that the news came out after Claudia was caught on camera with Dave Arch on Saturday?!

She has a lazy eye (or something similar) and likes to hide it with the fringe. Can't remember where I saw her say that.

Lets hope its not a drag queen who takes their place

Hopefully not a bunch of wokes 🙄

Tess has obviously been given the push. She’s been rubbish for ages. The producers have told her they want to go in a different direction which has given her the chance to make an announcement ahead of time on her own terms. Claudia has probably left in solidarity

Tired of all the same old same old candidates for this kind of thing so I nominate:

Mary Beard for the Claud role
Louis Theroux as Tess

I doubt they'd do it but I'd love Mel & Sue to Host.

Woke-est.... the last person to win it was blind, before that female, then deaf and then Black... do you just mean not a white man with any disabilities?

So all the scandals are starting to impact their own brands, so they are jumping now knowing the shit behind the scenes before it all becomes public and they get dragged into it?

Those saying it could still be popular if ... it still attracts something like 6m viewers a week.

I think Allison Hammond would be a fab replacement, not sure on the sidekick ... Cat Deeley is too Tess lookalike for that to work. Janette isn't a good presenter.

Used to be addicted to Strictly but not watched it for about 7 years now, it just lost its lustre for me. Not up to date on all the gossip and scandals for that reason, but my take on is that Claudia's careeer is on the up due to Traitors and she wants out and Tess has agreed to the pact they apparently made. I have never watched Traitors either!

I suspect the commitment to Strictly may have been holding Claudia back from bigger and better things - her profile has shot up with Traitors, especially the Sleb version, and she's also been filling in for Graham Norton occasionally. They say the announcement was made now because rumours were floating around, but it could just be that Claudia has had an offer that was too good to miss, and there was a limited timeframe for putting it in place.

If the scandals were bothering them they'd have gone before now. This year has been reasonably controversy-free.

I hope the whole thing would go away forever.

I think the Beeb owe Tess for all those years of effectively carrying Brucie and evading his wandering hands. I doubt that they seriously believe sacking her would help the show - they like to have at least some people who have been there since the beginning, like Craig and Anton.