BBC's blunt statement on Strictly Come Dancing future after Claudia and Tess quit

The BBC has issued a very blunt statement on the future of Strictly Come Dancing after the main hosts, Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, announced that they would be quitting. While fans have been worried about the show's future, the broadcasters summed up what will happen next in just 12 words.

Show bosses released a lengthy statement, paying tribute to the hosts, before adding a line about what to expect for the 2026 series. They simply wrote: "Plans for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course." While things seem to be up in the air, one thing is for certain - Tess and Claudia will be seeing out the current series. It was confirmed that they will "leave Strictly Come Dancing at the end of the current series and their last appearance together on screen will be on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special which will air on Christmas Day on BBC One and BBC iPlayer."

Announcing their exit, in a joint statement, the BBC hosts said: "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."

If the show does return next year, it will be with brand new faces at the helm - with many bookies already making predictions for who it could be.

So far, the pair are likely to be replaced by former contestant Zoe Ball, while one presenter of spin-off show It Takes Two, Fleur East, could see herself promoted to the main show.

Fleur, who was a finalist on the show in 2022 is currently at odds of 2/1 to take over while former BBC Radio 1 breakfast host Zoe. who was a Strictly contestant in 2025, and has previously hosted It Takes Two is at 4/1.

A male presenter is also a possibility with The One Show's Roman Kemp at 6/4 while This Morning favourite Rylan Clarke has odds of 3/1.