Claudia Winkleman Quits BBC Talk Show After One Season As Host

Claudia Winkleman has confirmed that she won’t be returning to her BBC chat show.

The Claudia Winkleman Show ran for eight weeks earlier this year, and was met with mixed reviews from both critics and viewers.

On Thursday, the Bafta winner announced that she had made the decision not to carry on with the format – at least for the time being.

“Sometimes you have to try something to see how it fits, and I realised I was just too nervous to enjoy it,” she said in a statement.

“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.”

Claudia added: “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.”

The Claudia Winkleman Show was executive produced by Graham Norton, who previously jumped to his fellow presenter’s defence amid criticism aimed at her programme.

He told the Daily Mail: “What Claudia did was The Claudia Winkleman Show, and that’s what she’s supposed to be doing.

“She shouldn’t be trying to be me. She should be trying to be Claudia, and she nailed that.”

The BBC’s director of entertainment enthused: “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.”

Claudia can currently be seen in action in the latest season of the Channel 4 competition series The Piano, and will return to TV’s most famous castle for the second iteration of The Celebrity Traitors in the autumn.

This time around, the all-star cast will include comedians Miranda Hart, James Acaster and Joe Lycett, actor Bella Ramsey, former Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Oscar nominee Richard E Grant.