Vernon Kay has shared a sweet message to his wife Tess Daly hours after she announced she would be stepping down from Strictly Come Dancing.
The TV presenter, 56, and her co-host Claudia Winkleman, 53, shared a joint statement on Instagram on Thursday, revealing that they will both be leaving the BBC show at the end of the current series.
Their last appearance together will be on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, which airs on December 25.
Now, Vernon, 51, has shown his support for his wife, as he took to his Instagram story to repost an illustration of the pair, which was drawn by a fan, and featured the caption: ‘What a fantastic duo they have been.’
Tess and Claudia, who have been presenting the BBC One dancing competition together since 2014, took to Instagram to break the news to fans.
Claudia, who also hosts BBC series The Traitors, and Tess, who first joined the series back in 2004, were seen sitting side by side in a clip that confirmed their departure.
Vernon Kay has shared a sweet message to his wife Tess Daly, just hours after she announced she would be stepping down from Strictly Come Dancing at the end of the current season
The TV presenter, 56, and her co-host Claudia Winkleman, 53, shared a joint statement on Instagram on Thursday, revealing that they will both be leaving the BBC show
Now, Vernon has shown his support for his wife Tess, as he took to his Instagram story to repost an illustration of the pair, which was drawn by a fan
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 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.’
In the caption alongside the video, the duo penned to Strictly fans: ‘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.
Their last appearance together will be on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, which airs on December 25 (both pictured on the show this year)
‘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.
They concluded the post with: ‘Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.’
The BBC have since broken their silence on Claudia and Tess’ exit – admitting their departure marks the ‘end of an era’.
The BBC’s chief content officer Kate Phillips said: ‘I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but it’s the end of an era with Tess and Claudia’s decision to bid farewell to the Strictly ballroom.
It comes hours after the duo, who have been presenting the BBC One dancing competition together since 2014, took to Instagram to break the news to fans
‘They’ve both been such incredible hosts at the very heart of the show, their passion and dedication has gone above and beyond.
‘They’ve been integral to Strictly’s success over the last 20 years, but I understand why they’ve decided it’s time to hang up the glitter ball and get their weekends back.
‘As Craig would say they are fab-u-lous presenters, and they are fab-u-lous friends to me and so many others at the BBC. Thank you Tess and Claud for everything, we will miss you hugely.’
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday at 6:25pm and is followed by Sundays results show at 7:15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
