Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s announcement that they were leaving Strictly Come Dancing sent shockwaves, with both viewers and their co-stars reacting with sadness on social media.
However, one person that was likely nothing less than thrilled by the news, is Claudia’s son Jake Thykier.
The Traitors host, 53, has long made it known that the 22-year-old is not a Strictly fan, with him frequently pleading with her to quit hosting the show.
Jake is her eldest child with husband Kris Thykier, with the couple welcoming him into the world in March 2003, followed by the arrivals of daughter Matilda, 19, in 2006 and son Arthur, 14, in 2011.
Claudia began hosting Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, the year after Jake was born, moving to presenting the results show in 2010 and finally landing the plummy co-host gig with Tess on the main show in 2014, following Bruce Forsyth’s departure.
But despite his mother working on the BBC series for almost all of his life and holds one of TV’s most coveted roles, Claudia has revealed that Jake finds her job ’embarrassing’.
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s announcement that they were leaving Strictly sent shockwaves, with both viewers and their co-stars reacting with sadness (seen on Saturday)
However, one person that was likely nothing less than thrilled by the news, is Claudia’s son Jake Thykier (seen with dad Kris Thykier earlier this month)
Back in 2018, the presenter admitted that her then-teenaged son had demanded that she throw in the towel, even resorting to guilt-tripping.
Speaking on The Dan Wootton Interview podcast, Claudia explained: ‘My eldest son has got a buzzcut. He’s 15 and he thinks his mum’s a loser. It’s heartbreaking.
‘The main thing he wants me to do is just not do Strictly. “Mum, if you really love me, you’d stop.” He’s just embarrassed.’
However, the strong-willed star was unmoved by Jake’s discomfort, insisting: ‘But that’s the whole point. My job is to embarrass him, so I just follow him around trying to lick his ear. He’s the cutest thing ever.’
And his feelings towards the show didn’t improve as he got older, with Claudia revealing that Jake doubled down with his pleas after it became a topic of conversation at his school.
However, in her typical witty fashion, Claudia once again shot down his complaints by pointing out how he’d benefitted from her coveted TV gig.
While picking up an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2023, she said: ‘My son said to me, “Mum, you have got to stop doing Strictly, it’s so embarrassing and my teacher has mentioned it”.’
She added: ‘I just went “See those trainers, Jake?” He was like “OK, sorry”.’
The Traitors host, 53, has long made it known that the 22-year-old is not a Strictly fan, with him frequently pleading with her to quit hosting the show
Claudia began hosting Strictly spin-off It Takes Two , the year after Jake was born, moving to presenting the results show in 2010 and finally landing the plummy co-host gig with Tess on the main show in 2014, following Bruce Forsyth ‘s departure
Last year, she revealed that Jake had not only urged her to give up the Strictly job, but begged her to swap it for a slot on another huge BBC show.
Appearing on Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett’s Dish with Waitrose podcast, Claudia recalled: ‘My son, about four years ago, went, “You have to stop doing that show… can you just work on Match of the Day?”‘
Laughing off the idea, she quipped: ‘I was like, “I can’t spell football!”‘
But, Jake very nearly succeeded in making his wish come true, as Claudia revealed she once came very close to leaving Strictly four years ago, due to him heading off to university.
The Traitors star admitted she was ‘in tears’ and didn’t know how to cope in the lead-up to Jake flying the nest to continue his education away from home.
Speaking on Woman’s Hour in 2021 ahead of the big move, she emotionally confessed: ‘I genuinely don’t know what I’m going to do. I mean we all have to do it. [My son] goes September 13.”
‘I don’t want to cry on your show because I feel like it’s the beginning of the week and let’s be upbeat, but I genuinely don’t know what I’m going to do. I mean we all have to do it, there aren’t any words.’
But she went on to explain that her desire to be with her eldest on his first day at university led her to tearfully call Strictly bosses, threatening to quit.
And his feelings towards the show didn’t improve as he got older, with Claudia revealing that Jake doubled down with his pleas after it became a topic of conversation at his school (seen with Kris in 2021)
But, Jake very nearly succeeded in making his wish come true, as Claudia revealed she once came very close to leaving Strictly four years ago, due to him heading off to university
Claudia recalled how she phoned up the show’s executive producer, Sarah James, in floods of tears to issue an ultimatum, after fearing that the launch episode that year would clash with Jake’s move.
She said: ‘I phoned the boss of Strictly quite dramatically and said, through tears, “Sarah I love you. I don’t want to leave Strictly.
“Tess and I have agreed we will leave together when they’re done with us, but if the first show is September 13, I’m out and you’ll have to go with somebody else.”
She went on: ‘And there was a beat. And Sarah said, “Quite dramatic. We don’t start that week.” I was like, “alright”.
‘It was a rite of passage, I had to go and hang up his posters. It’s not that I love him more than others love their kids, but this is something parents have to go through.’
Jake’s move to university took him farther than most however – after attending the City of London School for seven years, he went to study abroad at a hospitality management school in Switzerland in 2021.
In July, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management from the EHL Hospitality Business School, formerly known as École hôtelière de Lausanne.
And he appears to have inherited a strong work ethic from his successful parents, according to his LinkedIn.
And he appears to have inherited a strong work ethic from his successful parents, working as a bartender and membership representative for international private members’ club, Soho House, for stints in both Oxford and Mexico
Unlike his younger sister, Matilda (pictured) – who boasts nearly 4,000 Instagram followers and close to 10,000 on TikTok – Jake does not have a public profile
With his film and TV producer father hailing from Denmark, Jake spent six months working in Copenhagen in 2022, interning at Absalon Hotel.
In 2023 and 2024, he also worked as a bartender and membership representative for international private members’ club, Soho House, for stints in both Oxford and Mexico.
His latest job saw him work for two and half years as a bar manager in Lausanne, while completing his degree.
Unlike his younger sister, Matilda – who boasts nearly 4,000 Instagram followers and close to 10,000 on TikTok – Jake does not have a public profile.
However, he has made an occasional appearance on Matilda’s social media alongside their famous mum, most recently in a hilarious family clip in January.
The Tiktok video featured all three kids, Claudia and dad Kris ‘celebrating their dog getting into Harvard’.
Sat with the adorable pup on her lap, Claudia clutched on to its paws as the whole family gathered around looking intently at her laptop to check the results.
The family dramatically cheered and hugged one another, as they mockingly pretended the sweet pooch had scored a place in the elite establishment.
However, he has made an occasional appearance on Matilda’s social media alongside their famous mum, most recently in a hilarious family clip in January (seen hugging Claudia)
Captioning the clip, Matilda penned: ‘Pretending our dog got into harvard cuz why not’.
Claudia and Tess – who has hosted the series since its inception in 2004 – agreed to quit Strictly nearly a year ago after a series of heart-to-heart chats.
The two pals announced their departure last week on Instagram, sharing a video of them sat side-by-side together.
Speaking to the camera, Claudia began: ‘There have been some rumblings and we want you to hear this from us.’
Tess chimed in: ‘We have news, after 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly, we have decided that the time is right to step aside and pass over the baton.’
‘The very sparkly baton!’ Claudia laughed, before turning to her co-star and pal to add: ‘You’ve been here since the beginning.’
Tess replied, pointing to Claudia: ‘With Bruce, lovely Bruce [Forsyth], and that was over two decades ago but a lot of the time has been with you.
‘It’s been a huge part of our lives since our children were literally babes in arms, and now they’re adults, and I think genuinely we have cherished every second.’
Claudia and Tess – who has hosted the series since its inception in 2004 – agreed to quit Strictly nearly a year ago after a series of heart-to-heart chats
Claudia continued: ‘We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show and we just want to thank the Strictly team, because Strictly is the people who make it.’
The duo penned under the video: ‘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.
‘They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. 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.’
