BREAKING NEWS: Claudia Winkleman quits BBC chat show after one series with shock statement
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Claudia Winkleman has stepped down from her BBC chat show(Image: PA)
Claudia Winkleman has quit her BBC talk show after just one series, saying she was “too nervous to enjoy it.”
The Claudia Winkleman Show – which launched earlier this year – saw her interview celebrity guests in front of a studio audience.
Announcing her decision today, Claudia, 54, said: “I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for giving me the opportunity, to the guests who agreed to come and chat to me, and the production team who were simply excellent.
“Sometimes you have to try something to see how it fits, and I realised I was just too nervous to enjoy it. Maybe one day I will give it another try, but for now I already have the best jobs in the world and absolutely love the shows I’m doing.”
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Claudia welcomed a host of famous faces to her velvet sofa, but won’t be returning for a series 2
Winkleman, who stepped down from presenting Strictly Come Dancing after 15 years last December, continues to present The Traitors and spin-off The Celebrity Traitors.
Her chat show was produced by So Television, the company behind the award-winning The Graham Norton Show. Winkleman’s show filled the same Friday nighttime slot on BBC One in the gap between series.
Before the show even launched, she predicted how it would go as she joked: “I’m obviously going to be awful, that goes without saying, but I’m over the moon they’re letting me try.” Claudia added “I probably said yes because of ego, I don’t know.”
Her signature self-deprecation continued as the show went to air as she continued to critique her performance.
Responding to the mixed reviews, Claudia described the first episode as ‘so bad’ and said that she will ‘hopefully be less painful’ as the series continued.
The premiere episode on 13 March 2026 brought in 1.5 million overnight viewers which beat the final episode of The Graham Norton Show’s preceding series by roughly 200,000 viewers.
During the run, Claudia interviewed guests including Jennifer Saunders, Dan Levy and Jeff Goldblum.
Giving his take on Claudia’s style, BBC One’s leading chat show king Graham said she ‘nailed it.’
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Graham Norton said Claudia ‘was not pretending to be him’ as she made the chat show her own(Image: Getty Images)
“What Claudia did was the Claudia Winkleman show, and that’s what she’s supposed to be doing. She shouldn’t be trying to be me.”
In 2022, Norton reduced the number of episodes he makes of his chat show every year.
Supporting Claudia’s decision to step down, Ed Havard, director of entertainment at the BBC, said: “Claudia’s warmth and quick wit made The Claudia Winkleman Show an absolute joy.”
He added: “Whilst we loved the show, we fully respect her decision and would like to thank Claudia and the brilliant team at So Television for bringing the series to screen on the BBC.
“As the host of the country’s most-watched show, Claudia will be back on the BBC very soon when The Celebrity Traitors returns later this year, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for the new band of celebs.”
Earlier this year, Claudia opened up about her decision to step down from Strictly Come Dancing with Tess Daly after 20 years, saying they had wanted to ‘end on a high.’
“It is a genuinely beautiful show to be part of. Almost every single person who’s taken part is happy they did. So no, it wasn’t that.”
The pair presented their final show together in December 2025, with Emma Willis, comedian Josh Widdicombe, and professional dancer Johannes Radebe taking over for the new series.
