Everything you need to know about The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman MBE

Thanks to her witty sense of humour and snappy presenting skills, Claudia Winkleman MBE has become one of the most popular and loved celebrities around in recent years, fronting huge shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors, to name a few.

As well as landing her very own chat show, Claudia has joined the presenting line-up for Crufts, so we've decided to take a look at Claudia's career so far, and why she's one of the most-loved TV stars around.

Who is Claudia Winkleman?

Claudia Winkleman is a popular TV presenter in the UK, having fronted shows such as The Great British Sewing Bee, The Celebrity Traitors and The Piano. Since her first appearance on TV in the 90s, Claudia has become one of Britain’s most well-loved presenters, with her distinctive look and hilarious personality.

The 54-year-old has also worked in the radio industry in the past.

How did she get famous?

She’s made a name for herself through various presenting roles, but she became a household name in 2004, when she landed a job on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.

What is her full name?

She was born Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman.

How old is she?

Claudia was born on 15th January in 1972, meaning she is currently 54-years-old.

How tall is she?

She's 1.65m in height.

Where is she from?

Whilst Claudia was born in Westminster in London, she grew up in the Hampstead area.

What TV shows has she been on?

Claudia started her TV career in the early 90s, landing a number of presenting roles. In recent years, she's appeared on some of the biggest shows in the UK. Check out her list of TV presenting roles below.

Early 1990s: Co-presenter on travel show Holiday

Mid‑1990s: Presenter on dating game show God’s Gift

2002‑2004: Presenter on celebrity news show Liquid News

2004‑2010: Presenter on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two

2005‑2007: Presenter on reality show The House of Tiny Tearaways

2009: Presenter on the fourth series of Hell’s Kitchen UK

2013–2016: Presenter on The Great British Sewing Bee

2014–2025: Co-presenter on Strictly Come Dancing alongside Tess Daly

2022–Present: Presenter on BBC reality show The Traitors

2023–Present: Presenter on Channel 4 music competition The Piano

2025-Present: Presenter on The Celebrity Traitors

2026: Crufts presenting team

2026: Presenter on her own chat show The Claudia Winkleman Show

Does Claudia have her own chat show?

She does! On Monday 29th December 2025, the BBC announced a new show called The Claudia Winkleman Show, which sees Claudia welcome a whole host of famous guests from the worlds of film, television, music and beyond to her sofa for lively conversation, with the help of a studio audience.

Claudia said: “I can’t quite believe it and I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for this amazing opportunity. I'm obviously going to be awful, that goes without saying, but I’m over the moon they’re letting me try.”

The Claudia Winkleman Show began on BBC One on Friday 13th March 2026.

Has she left Strictly?

After 12 years on the main show, Claudia and co-host Tess Daly announced on 23rd October that they would be leaving the show following the 2025 series.

In a statement, Claudia said: 'It’s very difficult to put into words exactly what Strictly has meant to me. It’s been the greatest relationship of my career. From working on It Takes Two in 2004 until now it has been my everything, the show I will be eternally grateful for. I will never forget Len Goodman trying to teach me what a cucaracha is (I still don’t know) and the complete thrill and honour it was to work with Tess on the results show to co-hosting on Saturday nights.

'Strictly is a magical, glittery, fake tanned train and it’s been a privilege to be a tiny part of it. The extraordinary talent of the dancers, the band, the hair and makeup and costume teams, the unbelievable production crew and creatives - all utterly amazing. I’ve always believed it’s best to leave a party before you’re fully ready to go and I know the new hosts will be magnificent, I look forward to watching them take Strictly to new heights. As for Tess - I’m so so lucky I got to stand next to you. You’re funny, kind, whip smart and a true friend and I love you.' (sic)

In a video alongside best friend Tess, the pair also 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."

Claudia and Tess' final live show together was the 2025 Strictly final on 20th December, before appearing for the last time on screens during the pre-recorded Christmas special on 25th December.

Claudia on The Traitors

In early 2022 it was announced that Claudia would be hosting the first-ever UK series of reality game show The Traitors.

As well as welcoming the contestants, explaining the rules and picking which players she'd like to be her Traitors, Claudia oversees the game and hosts each daily task. She also presents the results of the round table, as well as playing a dramatic role in the final scene.

To date, Claudia has hosted four series of the show, as well as the record-breaking celebrity version, which aired in 2025. Claudia will return later in 2026 for the second celebrity edition of The Traitors.

NOW READ: Claudia Winkleman lands her very own BBC chat show

Does she have an MBE?

She does. Claudia was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.

She said at the time: “I am incredibly grateful to receive this honour. It’s a real privilege to work with extraordinarily talented people and I have only got this because of them. So this is for the BBC, the traitors and the faithful, for pianos and for the cha cha.

“I will buy a hat and am taking my mum. I am ridiculously lucky and will celebrate with Tess by doing a paso doble.”

Claudia was given her award at Windsor Castle on Tuesday 9th December 2025, by King Charles.

Is she married?

Yes! Claudia has been married to film producer Kris Thykier since 2000, who worked on hit series MobLand. Kris, who is originally from Denmark, married Claudia on 24th June in 2000 at the Marylebone Town Hall.

The pair walked the red carpet together for many events in 2025, including the premiere of MobLand and movie Is This Thing On?.

Does she have children?

Claudia and Kris are proud parents to their three children, Jake, 23, Matilda, 20, and Arthur, 14.

Back in 2014, Claudia was left traumatised when Matilda's Halloween costume set alight, resulting in the then eight-year-old suffering awful burns. Claudia made the decision to make the story public at the time to raise awareness for others.

Claudia chooses to keep her children away from her public social media accounts.

Who is her famous sister?

Actress Sophie Winkleman is Claudia's half-sister, the pair have the same father.

Sophie appeared in 2023 movie Wonka, as well as a number of TV shows such as Peep Show, CSI: Miami, Death in Paradise, Two and a Half Men, Endeavour and Belgravia: The Next Chapter.

Sophie married Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009, the son of Prince Michael of Kent and second cousin of King Charles III.

Does she wear a wig?

No, Claudia's hair is all her own!

Speaking to our friends over at Grazia about how she keeps her hair so healthy, Cladia said: "My hair is doing well, and it's mostly because of Head & Shoulders, and I’m not just saying that.

"I comb the conditioner through, too. Don’t leave it in for too long though, we’re not lunatics. It doesn’t weigh my hair down, it gives it oomph. If I’m feeling really fancy I might brush it when it’s wet. Then I forget about it, it just sort of sorts itself out. I shower, and then I curl up in bed, normally with my small person - not my husband you understand, he’s normal sized - the little person. Then I have a nap. I wake up, and my hair’s dry.

"Under normal circumstances I’d have a trim once every two months maybe. I know I’m in trouble if I can actually eat my fringe, that’s when I know I need to go to a hairdresser."

What eye condition does Claudia have?

Claudia has been open in the past about living with myopia, or short-sightedness, a common eye condition where distant objects appear blurry because the eye focuses light in front of the retina instead of directly on it.

In June 2025, Claudia shared a photo to her Instagram page with her eye surgeon, writing: 'This amazing human makes me see. He’s operated on my eyes before and he did it again today. No eyeliner for weeks and I sleep in goggles (no words) but I’m eternally grateful. Do NOT zoom in on my left eye - it’s wonky. Thank you Julian. I paid for the treatment, this isn’t an ad. I just love him. It’s very possible I’m still a bit sedated. Night night'

Speaking on the How To Fail podcast in November 2024, Claudia said: "I've always had terrible eyesight, which goes back to the blurriness of the paintings I like and the blurriness of how I really like life to be. I've had a couple of operations since then because I was just banging into walls. But now I wear lenses or glasses or whatever.

"A lit candle and everything is just a bit fuzzy around the outside. I was born, I think, with minus 15, so I've never really been able to see my face. It's all guesswork.

"But everything is ish, it's just a vague idea, which is how I'd like to live. I don't want to live in 'perfect land'. I want to live in 'fuzzy world'.

"If there's perfect here - people who want things to look good and ordered and alphabetised and organised - and then there's the other end, I'm past the other end. I like irregular and ramshackle and messy. Just look at the way I do my eye make-up. I'm not very good at neat."