Claudia Winkleman has surprisingly revealed she's not the biggest fan of Mother's Day. Appearing on the latest episode of the award-winning foodie podcast, Dish, the Strictly Come Dancing host confessed she has banned her three children from marking the annual celebration which takes place on Sunday.
"I have quite a strong view on Mother's Day, I can't stand it," she told hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett. "If the children come even near me with anything that resembles a card, a flower, a breakfast in bed, a speech, I'm gonna stop you there.
© Mike Marsland"Now let me just say if they want to unload the dishwasher… they can do this on other days."
Claudia, 51, is a devoted mother of three children, sharing Jake, 21, Matilda, 17, and Arthur, 12, with her husband of 22 years, film producer Kris Thykier.
Of her children's dilemma, Claudia added: "They have opinions about this, which I'm finding quite difficult. My eldest is twenty-one, I'm like, just lie there and let me do it."
However, it doesn't stop there on Mother's Day, as the popular TV star is also opposed to Valentine's Day. She continued: "If my husband was to turn around and go, 'I'm not being funny, but you are amazing,' and kiss me on the neck and then make me a delicious burger, he can do that on the 12th of February. He just can't do it on the 14th."
Claudia was then quick to add: "Let's just say out loud that mums are utterly brilliant. So they should be celebrated."
Quizzed about filming The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing, Claudia confessed her loved ones don't come to see her during filming. "My son, about four years ago, he went, 'Mum, you have got to stop doing that show,'" when asked if her kids come and watch the BBC ballroom show.
"'You have got to stop.' God love him. He didn't really understand, he was like, 'Could you just work on Match of the Day?' I was like, I can't spell football, that's not how it works, and he went, 'But you also don't ballroom dance.'
"I was like, fair point. Fair point. No, we hang out, and I quite like going in and just having a chat with Tess [Daly]."
On working with such a brilliant team, Claudia continued: "What I love about Strictly, and this is going to make everyone feel nauseous, but it is true life, is that everybody who works there has worked there for years, so we are a proper gang and it is a show, no offense, completely run by women.
"So the director, BAFTA award-winning woman, the exec, producer a woman, our commissioning editor a woman. There are men there and they are obviously excellent, but it is- and we've all been through all kinds of things together, whether births or meeting someone or breaking up with someone or, or…so Strictly feels, I know it's a show on the telly, but it does feel like family."
