Claudia Winkleman discusses Strictly Come Dancing imposter syndrome: ‘I’m just waiting to be fired’

Presenter took over hosting duties from Bruce Forsyth in 2014

Claudia Winkleman has revealed that she still has imposter syndrome around her role on Strictly Come Dancing.

Winkleman has co-hosted the Saturday night competition series with Tess Daly since 2014, having previously fronted sister show It Takes Two from 2005 to 2010.

However, despite being a long-standing member of the Strictly family, the presenter told You magazine that she’s “waiting to be fired” from the show.

“I’m waiting for somebody to tap me on the shoulder and go, ‘Oh, sorry, we’ve got this all wrong, you are not allowed to go in again, we’ve got Rylan [Clark-Neal] instead’,” Winkleman joked, adding: “But I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

“Imposter syndrome is incredibly useful,” she continued. “We’ve both met people who are like, ‘I was born to do this, get out of my way.’ I don’t want to be that person. Feeling – don’t throw up – grateful and slightly surprised I think is a good thing. It keeps you on your toes.”

Winkleman will return to host Strictly this autumn, with the show’s line-up having recently been announced.

Among them is boxer Nicola Adams, who will compete in the show’s first same-sex competitive partnership. Earlier this week, the BBC defended its decision to have Nicola dance with another woman after receiving complaints.

“Strictly Come Dancing is an inclusive show and is proud to have featured same sex dancing amongst the professional dancers in group numbers in previous series,” the BBC said.

“We have stated, in the past, that we are open to the prospect of including same sex pairings between our celebrities and professional dancers, should the opportunity arise. Nicola Adams requested an all-female pairing, which we are happy to facilitate.”

Strictly will run for nine weeks this year and is expected to return in October.