Former Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman enjoyed a work-free weekend with a spot of shopping in London’s Notting Hill – as the show’s re-vamped line-up failed to deliver in the ratings.
Amid the BBC hit’s big relaunch, Claudia, 54, perused shops in the west London neighborhood with her half-brother Oliver Lloyd.
She looked relaxed and carefree for the low-key outing, which comes after the new Strictly line-up with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe failed to deliver the ratings boost BBC bosses had hoped for.
Fans questioned the ‘awkward’ three-presenter format, while comedian Josh, 43, was branded ‘out of his depth’ on the show.
On Saturday, the pre-recorded launch show peaked at 5.8 million viewers, according to overnight figures, up slightly on last year’s peak of 5.6 million.
However, the episode averaged at 5.3 million viewers, down from 5.4 million in 2025.
Former Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman enjoyed a work-free weekend as she did a spot of shopping in London’s Notting Hill amid the BBC show’s big series launch
While Strictly’s revamped line-up failed to deliver in the ratings, Claudia, 54, looked relaxed and carefree she joined her half-brother Oliver Lloyd for the low-key outing
While the peak figure represents a small rise on last year, it remains well below the figures recorded before the programme was hit by a series of controversies.
This includes allegations about the treatment of celebrity contestants and the culture behind the scenes, leading to the departure of professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima and prompting the BBC to introduce tougher welfare measures.
Prior to the string of scandals, the Strictly launch peaked at 6.7 million viewers and averaged 6.3 million in 2023.
Bosses will have hoped that a fresh format and new hosting line-up could tempt lapsed viewers back to the BBC One favourite. However, the overnight figures suggest the changes have yet to produce a significant ratings resurgence.
Pre-recorded last week, the episode opened with a dance number from the professionals, including the five new dancers, as well as the judges and the new hosts.
The 15 nervous celebrities also found out who they will be dancing with for, potentially, 13 weeks as they vie for the Glitterball trophy.
Willis, Widdicombe and Radebe have taken over from Tess Daly and Claudia, who left the BBC show at the end of the 2025 series.
Widdicombe admitted he was nervous as the new series got under way, telling viewers: ‘It’s a little bit overwhelming to be here but we are so excited…’
Ditching the heavy eyeliner and glam ensembles she would normally don on a Saturday, Claudia instead opted for a more pared-back look, sporting minimal makeup and casual clothing
The Traitors host teamed a brown jacket with slouchy jeans tucked into chunky black boots for the outing
She could be seen leaning against a bollard while checking her phone, as she and Oliver happily enjoyed each other’s company
Claudia and Oliver share the same mother, author and journalist Eve Pollard, with Eve having welcomed Oliver with her second husband, newspaper editor Sir Nicholas Lloyd
The siblings enjoyed a relaxing day out together
Claudia’s outing comes after the revamped Strictly line-up with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe failed to deliver the ratings boost BBC bosses had hoped for
On Saturday, the pre-recorded launch show peaked at 5.8 million viewers, according to overnight figures, up slightly on last year’s peak of 5.6 million
Willis added: ‘We cannot wait to spend the next 13 weeks with all of you.’
And viewers were quick to react to the presenting team on social media.
Willis was widely praised, with one fan hailing her as ‘the goddess of British TV’ as she opened the show in a plunging, glittering dress.
But others questioned the decision to have three presenters, with viewers pointing out the format seems ‘awkward and forced’.
‘Why does it need 3 presenters? It just doesn’t work,’ one wrote on X.
Widdicombe also came in for criticism, with some viewers claiming he appeared ‘out of his depth’.
Amid the furore surrounding the launch show, Claudia didn’t appear to have a care in the world as she enjoyed some retail therapy with her brother.
Ditching the heavy eyeliner and glam ensembles she would normally don on a Saturday, Claudia instead opted for a more pared-back look, sporting minimal makeup and casual clothing.
The Traitors host teamed a brown jacket with slouchy jeans tucked into chunky black boots for the outing.
She could be seen leaning against a bollard while checking her phone, as she and Oliver happily enjoyed each other’s company.
Claudia and Oliver share the same mother, author and journalist Eve Pollard, with Eve having welcomed Oliver with her second husband, newspaper editor and broadcaster Sir Nicholas Lloyd.
It comes as ITV made a tactical scheduling change to avoid a direct clash between The Voice and the Strictly launch.
The Voice began at 6.10pm rather than its usual 7pm slot, while Strictly started at 7.25pm.
However, the singing competition, which Willis has hosted since 2014, was unable to match Strictly’s numbers, peaking at two million viewers and averaging 1.6 million.
This means the ITV show, which has been mired in controversy after it emerged coach Tom Jones had been dropped, lost half a million viewers from the previous week.
Willis will spend several weeks going head-to-head with herself on primetime television, and on Saturday, across the two programmes, she helped draw a combined audience of around seven million viewers.
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