Craig Revel Horwood has been left ‘shocked and saddened’ with the news that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set to leave Strictly Come Dancing

Craig Revel Horwood has been left ‘shocked and saddened’ with the news that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set to leave Strictly Come Dancing. The dancer, 60, is is a judge on the hit BBC series alongside Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas, and claimed that he found out with everyone else that the presenting pair were set to leave.

The West End star joined Jane Moore, Nadia Sawalha, Olivia Attwood and Oti Mabuse on Thursday’s edition of Loose Women where he reacted to the news.

He said: “10’clock this morning, I found out like everyone else. On social media. My watch pinged and there it was. I was shocked, and surprised. I was saddened. I really loved them.

Craig joined Loose Women on Thursday to react to the shock news ( 
Image:
ITV)
“Obviously, I’ve been working on the show with Tess since the beginning since May 2004 and it’s the end of an era but I know that people need to move on. I wish them luck. I celebrate people moving on, we do it in the theatre all the time and I think it’s a good thing for people to move on.”

In the initial announcement, which consisted of a video of the pair sitting next to one another, Claudia began with: “Hi it’s Claud and Tess. There have been some rumblings and we want you to hear this from us…”

Tess added: “Yeah we have news. After 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly we have decided the time is right to step aside and pass on the baton…”

“The very sparkly baton…” Claudia continued before she turned to Tess and said: “You’ve been here since the beginning…”

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman sensationally announced on Thursday that they are set to leave Strictly Come Dancing ( 
Image:
Guy Levy/BBC/PA)
Tess then replied: “2004 with Brucey – lovely Bruce. That’s over two decades ago and a lot of that time has been with you. It’s been a huge part of our lives, hasn’t it? Since our children were literally babes in arms and now they’re young adults and I think, genuinely we have cherished every second.”

Claudia added: “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 so thank you…” Tess agreed: “They are the very best team in television we’ve been so lucky.

“And the audience as well, they’ve been so wonderful. They’ve been with us for this entire journey of 21 years and we wouldn’t have a show without them and they’ve been just so loyal and supportive.”

Suzy Lamb, Managing Director, Entertainment, BBC Studios said: “On behalf of the entire production team at Strictly, we are so going to miss Tess and Claudia. Tess brought elegance, poise, and a genuine love for the show that never waned from the very start.

“And with Claudia’s charm and razor-sharp wit joining us from It Takes Two in 2014 – it cemented a partnership that has kept our audience captivated ever since. Tess and Claudia are much more than presenters to us – they are part of the Strictly production family – and whilst we’ll miss them dearly, we wish them nothing but the best.”