Claudia Winkleman has announced she is quitting the BBC chat show she launched earlier this year after just one series, saying she was “too nervous to enjoy it”.
The TV presenter, who stepped down from Strictly Come Dancing last year and continues to host The Traitors, fronted seven episodes of The Claudia Winkleman Show, which was made by Graham Norton’s production company So Television. The series launched in March and occupied the Friday night slot on BBC One that Norton previously held during spring.
“Claudia Winkleman quits her BBC chat show after one series, saying she was too nervous to enjoy it.”
Guests included Lisa Kudrow, Jeff Goldblum, Niall Horan, Rachel Zegler, Ralph Fiennes, James McAvoy, Jamie Dornan, Vanessa Williams and incoming Strictly co-host Josh Widdicombe. Most episodes attracted an average combined audience of between 1.5 million and 2 million viewers—compared with Norton’s typical 2.5 million to 3 million.
The series split critics: some described it as entertaining and “full of banter”, while others called it “messy” and “a bit of a bore”.
In a statement, Winkleman 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.”
Ed Havard, the BBC’s director of entertainment, said: “Claudia’s warmth and quick wit made The Claudia Winkleman Show an absolute joy. 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.”
Her departure confirms the chat show format as one of the most perilous in television—even for a presenter who, as the Guardian’s Lucy Mangan wrote of the first episode, “we revere on The Traitors”.
