She has become a household name as presenter of Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors – and now Claudia Winkleman has landed her own primetime chat show on BBC One.
The new show, simply titled The Claudia Winkleman Show, will air on BBC One on Friday nights at 10.40pm – and the first instalment has a star-studded line-up.
American-Jewish Hollywood giant Jeff Goldblum, best known for starring in Jurassic Park and Wicked, will talk to co-religionist Winkleman about his upcoming jazz album Night Bloom by his band The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
Actress Vanessa Williams, known for her role in Desperate Housewives, will chat about her turn in the West End smash hit The Devil Wears Prada.
Comedian and actress Jennifer Saunders, best known as one half of French and Saunders, will be telling Winkelman about her new film The Magic Faraway Tree.
Tonight there will also be comedian Tom Allen, who will discuss his debut novel, Common Decency.
According to the Telegraph, Goldblum will also talk about his love of provincial British museums and his dislike of mechanical pencils, and Williams will recall being surprised by the sight of Sir Elton John’s bottom.
A source from the show told the newspaper: “This has just been something that they really wanted her to do.”
Patrick Holland, a former BBC Two controller who now runs the production company Banijay UK, told the newspaper: “She’s an amazing broadcaster. Witty, very clever, empathetic and a superpower of being a big personality without ever swamping her interviewee.
“She’s so comfortable in her own skin, and that makes her a joy to watch. So many other ‘presenters’ read the Autocue and look nice. Claudia always brings a wink of mischief, but with great authority.”
Winkleman, who last year was revealed to be the BBC’s highest-paid Jewish female star, has been a regular face on UK television screens since the 1990s.
She became a household name in 2010 when she began presenting BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing alongside Tess Daly and cemented her status as a national treasure when she became the face of the reality series The Traitors in 2022.
She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King Charles for her services to broadcasting three months ago.
London-born Winkleman said in an interview with the Sunday Times her grandparents pre-packed suitcases in case they needed to flee the UK.
She also said antisemitism was “definitely” on her mind following Hamas’ terror attack on Israel.
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