I need to extol the virtues of Claudia Winkleman as a presenter....

[shadypines]

...especially as I've come late to the Sewing Bee and am watching it from the start. She gives a masterclass in presenting:-- friendly without overdoing it; interested; gets to the point and so FUNNY. Just a word or look to the camera has me chuckling. Eg. she'll see someone making something a bit saucy and it's cheeky "ring-a-ding-ding" or " you're going to make a see-through tangerine coloured PVC top...why wouldn't you?" then does a pretend retch. Subtle and funny.
Now we have the 'look at me aren't I funny?' (no, you're not) CBEEBies type antics of Sara Pascoe and previously Joe Lycett. I cannot stand all that nonsensical skylarking that they do.
I like her on Strictly too.
i just love Claudia.
Just sayin'

OP, I highly recommend you listen to her on the Off Menu podcast. She's nutty as a fruitcake on it, one of the best episodes they have.

1littlegreen beat me to it. 😆

I love her too and what to be her. Isn’t she super smart and went to Oxford?

'She was on Off Menu and said she never, ever drinks water'

Yeah, much as I enjoy her, I do think she's full of shit with stuff like this. She has also said that she never ever cleanses her face and never looks in a mirror at home. That's just pure bullshit from someone who is so interested in her own appearance. Not being snarky, I'm vain as hell too, but I think she overeggs the lazy, 'normal' act sometimes

No she doesn't take herself too seriously at all. I remember her on room 101 saying she hates her forehead, hence the fringe. Personally I think she'd look great without it but am ok with it too.
Her and Tess make a good team.

I don’t like her because I think she’s very false. She’s always saying how she can’t do anything- sew a seam, bake a cake, dance etc and that she doesn’t know anything. Yet she went to a top class university and got a good degree. I find her ditsy persona very annoying. And she talks about how her mum didn’t allow mirrors in the house when she was growing up, because life is not about how you look. I feel to Claudia that appearance is everything.

It really is... the angry water glugging impressions are hilarious.

@Ikeabag thank you I will check out the podcast.
I know what you mean Lancashire it can get it annoying when people say they can't do anything when they are actually very intelligent.

I love her

Can't stand her only got where she is due to her famous mother, nepotism at its finest.

She’s utterly bonkers and I love her.

I think she can be very witty. She's been good fun on other progs (panel games). I love the 'Dave Arch' thing she has going on Strictly. I've heard her talk about art and in her book there's a short chapter where she explains why a painting by Caravaggio's that's in the National Gallery is so special. She certainly seems to know about art.

Get over the fringe, people!

It's her look and she rocks it. I think she knows people think it looks silly but she likes it so doesn't care.

I also feel so sad when I see the Botox forehead which seems to be ubiquitous on women, and increasingly common in men.

Seeing her fringe brings me joy and makes me think that she may well have mobile eyebrows underneath which is WILD.

And I wonder if she goes out in the daytime with her hair back and no make up so that nobody recognises her.

Basically every time I think about her I love her more.

And she's so funny. Like an actual real person.

I like her and her fringe...

You can be very intelligent and hopeless at practical tasks like sewing,baking etc.

Nepotism certainly opens doors and gets you chances that others don't get. Talent keeps you there.

I love her - she is funny - only thing I dislike is the white stilettos with black clothes on strictly

She's so annoying. I don't watch anything she's on.

If you go on 4od and watch faking it- she is on the ‘newsagent to celebrity interviewer’ episode from about 2002?

she very sweetly coaches a newsagent to be a tv presenter! She’s marvellous on it

I heard her describe her "look" as a uniform and a way of being able to be more inconspicuous when off duty.

Yes! I got into Strictly via ITT because of Claudia.

I’m a real fan - she is so funny and clever and I love how she sticks with things that people find irritating about her (the fringe, the fake tan, the pale lips) but I do agree when she insists she sleeps in her makeup, uses H&S and all that stuff I am a bit

A few years back we were lucky to get tickets to strictly. She was so funny and warm with the audience when not filming. Lots of banter with Dave Arch. She also swears like a trooper.

Unlike Len Goodman who was so grumpy and every time the filming stopped he left the studio and had no interaction with the audience. But as soon as the cameras rolled, he did his twinkly, lovable act. Put me right off him.

I like her, I like the fringe - it’s her trademark, I don’t think she could ever get rid of it, there would be a National outcry.

O blimey, the “suggested threads” underneath this one are all about Claudia’s fringe - for all those of us who love reading about fringes.

@sevensocks that is nice to know thanks for sharing, not a total surprise after watching Sewing Bee you can tell she has a genuine interest in people as if she was talking to a friend, she doesn't come across as the 'big I am'. 99% of time she wears black or white so agree it's almost like a uniform.