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Strictly's Tess and Claudia's final vow to fans as they quit show after 21 years

Strictly hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly have revealed that they will be leaving the BBC show after this series, but the pair had another special announcement for fans

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set to surprise fans before they exit Strictly for good.

The pair have hosted Strictly together since 2014, and Tess has been there since the beginning, when she hosted with the late Bruce Forsyth. However, the beloved duo have said "the time is right to step aside and pass over the baton" after this series is over.

However, they have also teased that they'll do a final dance together before they walk away from the show after "21 wonderfully joyful years". They spoke to fans in a joint video posted on Instagram.

In the clip, Claudia said: "Hi it's Claud and Tess. There have been some rumblings, and we want you to hear this from us."

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Tess and Claudia told fans that they'll do a show dance together before leaving Strictly(Image: Instagram)

Tess said: "Yeah we have news. After 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly, we have decided that the time is right to step aside and pass over the baton."

Claudia quipped: "The very sparkly baton. You [Tess] have been here since the beginning." Tess replied: "2004 with Brucey [Forsyth]. Lovely Bruce. I mean that's over two decades ago. A lot of that time has been with you. It's been a huge part of our lives, hasn't it?"

Claudia agreed: "Yeah." Tess went on: "Since literally we've had babies in arms and now they're young adults, and I thing genuinely we have cherished every second."

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The pair addressed fans in an emotional video where they confirmed they would be leaving Strictly after 21 "wonderfully joyful" years(Image: Instagram)

Claudia replied: "We have. We're so lucky to have been part of this amazing show and we just want to thank the Strictly team, because Strictly is the people who make it. We thank you."

Tess agreed: "They are the very best team in television, and we've been so lucky. And the audience as well. They've been so wonderful. They've been with us for this entire journey of 21 years and we wouldn't have a show without them. They've been so loyal and supportive."

Claudia reassured fans, saying: "We are loving this series. We're going to have a brilliant series to come and we can't wait to get to Blackpool." Tess called it the "best series ever".

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The pair have hosted Strictly together for over 10 years, but they said it's feels like the "time is right to step aside"(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)

Tess then announced that they'll be doing "that show dance" together hat they have "long dreamt of". Claudia teased her, saying that she won't be involved and will instead be watching her from the sides, with Tess egging her on, saying: "Please Claud."

It wouldn't be the first time the pair danced together, as in 2019 they teamed up for The Longest Ever Danceathon for Comic Relief. The duo were on their feet for over 24 hours to raise money for charity.

In another statement, they 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. Theyre the most brilliant team and well 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."

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