As the former Strictly host admits she ‘begged’ Channel 4 to let her work on this year’s Crufts, the dog-loving TV presenter has made divisive admissions about her pooch, Skip
Traitors star Claudia Winkleman has admitted she “kisses” her dog’s paws, having previously revealed she ‘french kisses’ him, after landing her latest gig presenting Crufts. The 54-year-old, who left her job co-hosting Strictly Come Dancing with Tess Daly at the end of 2025, has since bagged herself a primetime chat show on the BBC.
After landing herself a role on Crufts, Claudia admitted she had “begged” Channel 4 bosses to let her be involved in the dog show, revealing she is “in love” with canines. But when she’s not busy taking over the small screen, the in-demand TV star likes to get very close with her two-and-a-half year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Skip.
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Claudia pampers her pooch, letting him sleep in bed with her and husband Kris Thykier every night. She told the Sun on Sunday: “He sleeps in our bed, we chat to him constantly, I kiss his paws and we can no longer go anywhere without him.”
She explained how she and film producer Kris waited until their kids had grown up to get a dog so they could be sure to have enough time for one. And after attending Crufts as a visitor last year, her love for dogs is only growing, with the star admitting: She said: “I went not to work, but just for fun, and I couldn’t get over the dogs. I had to be dragged away.”
Claudia previously confessed that she ‘french kisses’ Skip. While speaking to Kathy Burke on her podcast, Where There’s a Will There’s a Wake, she discussed the bizarre comment, saying: “So I have recently got a dog who I am in love with. I mean, I’m going to bore you till your ears bleed. The two [kids] have left home. I didn’t know what to do. I thought I might steal a baby.
“So instead I got a dog, who I treat like….I mean I don’t put him in clothes, but I didn’t know, I’d never had a dog before or any form of animal, but this little dog who I open his mouth and insert my tongue. I do.”
And it’s not the first time she’s made the stomach-turning admission. The Sun reports that last year, Claudia made a similar statement while speaking in a magazine interview, in which she said: “He’s divine. I French kiss him. I licked his entire tongue once. I slept on the floor next to him until he got used to the new house. I take him on four walks a day. Though of course now they all love him so much, they fight me to do it.”
Fans were divided by Claudia’s bold admission, with some horrified by the prospect of licking a dog’s mouth. One wrote on social media: “Hell no. As a dog lover this is disgusting! They lick their bums, eat each other’s s***, lick god knows what off the floor. Yuch!!”
Another agreed, commenting: “No one loves dogs more than me but that is not only weird it’s dangerous. They lick their genitalia, behinds , dirty feet etc. You could catch worms & God knows what else – a dogs mouth is quite poisonous.”
A third reeled off a list of reasons why not to lick your dog’s mouth: “Illnesses that humans can acquire from dog contact include ringworm, diarrhoea disease (salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, and intestinal parasites), leptospirosis, brucellosis, Q fever, visceral larva migrans, and echinococcosis.”
But others didn’t seem to see the issue. One wrote: “I have four dogs and we all kiss and cuddle several times a day. We get obsessed about hygiene that’s why we get so ill now. We a full of bacteria we would die without bacteria but still modern medicine still believe all bacteria is bad. Ludicrous our microbiology is essential.”
Someone else commented: “Humans are the filthiest species on the planet. Kissing your pet is the least you have to worry about!!!”
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