See Tess Daly's 'mouth dry with fear' as she takes to dancefloor in incredibly rare Strictly moment
As the co-host of Strictly Come Dancing since it began an incredible two decades ago, Tess Daly has always been the consummate professional. Whether taking on her presenting duties with now sadly deceased TV icon Bruce Forsyth or, since 2014, alongside Claudia Winkleman, she flawlessly brings all the glitz and glamour to our living rooms every Saturday night.
But although Tess, 55, and Claudia, 52, are known for ending each show by nearly breaking into a dance and uttering the immortal words, "Keep dancing!" the star has never set foot on the Strictly dancefloor to show off own smooth moves. In fact, viewers would be forgiven for thinking Tess has never tripped the light fantastic on TV.
Yet they'd be wrong – as true Tess fans know she once took part in a unique Strictly special for Children In Need. Way back in 2008, Tess was hosting the BBC charity appeal alongside stars including Fearne Cotton, Alesha Dixon and John Barrowman. And with the focus that year on 'doing something different', Tess took part in a Strictly dance off against Terry Wogan – where she was partnered with Anton Du Beke – dancing an American smooth to Shirley Bassey's Hey Big Spender. Meanwhile Terry was partnered with pro Flavia Cacace, dancing a waltz to Lionel Richie's Three Times A Lady.
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In Tess' dance, she is seen wearing a long, white dress with gold detailing, paired with evening gloves, while Anton is in a classic tuexedo with white bow tie. Tess begins with her back to the audience, but spins around with her hands on her hips to whoops and cheers, before Anton leads her down a small flight of steps onto the dancefloor. At the end of their routine, he lifts her high into the air, to rapturous applause.
As they stand in front of the juding panel, consisting of Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli, Tess can be seen fanning herself, visibly out of breath. Appraising the performance, former head judge Len – who sadly passed away in 2023 – says: "What I'm looking for in an American smooth is what I've just seen." While Craig adds: "I hate to be the bearer of bad news – you could have done without that lift at the end. But, I thought you did it beautifully." In the end, they awarded Tess 36 points, to Terry's 29 points, meaning she beat him in the competition.
If viewers were left wondering why Tess doesn't show off her dancing skills more often, the answer lies in how she felt about taking part, as she admitted it had been "more nerve wracking than giving birth".
On another occasion, when asked by The Guardian about what she'd like to dance on Strictly, Tess confessed the Argentine tango but explained why she found her Children In Need experience so terrifying, saying: "In my dreams, I’d start with an Argentine tango and nail it. But in reality, I’d probably be rubbish. I once danced with Anton du Beke against the late, great Terry Wogan on the Children in Need version of Strictly. At least I know why the contestants are always licking their lips. Your mouth goes dry with fear."
According to Oddschecker.com, current favourites to win this year's Strictly are comedian Chris McCausland and his pro partner Dianne Buswell, followed by Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec.
