Claudia Winkleman reveals the bizarre rule she was forced to follow by Strictly bosses

STRICTLY Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman was asked to get her trademark fringe cut before she got the job.

She was approached to take over from Sir Bruce Forsyth as co- presenter with Tess Daly by the then-controller of BBC One Danny Cohen ten years ago.

But Claudia revealed he had an unusual request before making the final sign-off.

She said at the Edinburgh TV Festival: “Danny Cohen gave me the job and phoned me up and said, ‘We’d love you to do it’. I said, ‘Thank you so much, that is such an honour’.

“He added, ‘I’m just going to need a phone number from you’ and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, OK, which one?’ and he said, ‘Your hairdresser’s’.

“I was like, ‘Bit weird, controller of BBC One’.

“Two days later, James, who does my hair, said, ‘This guy called Danny phoned up to complain about the length of your fringe’.

“He (Danny) was like, ‘You can have this job but it’s just annoying it’s down to your nose. You want to be on telly but you’re invisible’.”

Claudia won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the festival, in recognition of a busy and successful year.

She has had a string of hits on top of her usual Strictly role, including The Piano on Channel 4 and BBC One’s The Traitors, which are both getting new runs this autumn.