All I’ve done is read, eat cake and really bad homeschooling
CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN has perfectly mastered the art of self-deprecation – it’s part of her charm, along with her witty one-liners. Despite being one of the most recognisable faces on TV, co-hosting Strictly Come Dancing with Tess Daly, she shrieks in horror at the thought of being called a celebrity.
“Nooo, please don’t call me that! Of course I’m not, not even close.
I’m just a short, orange person with a fringe,” she jokes.
“I don’t really regard myself as being in showbusiness,” Claudia adds. “It’s entirely possible that my indulgent family have created a home video scheme, where I feel like I’ve been hired to do telly but it’s not actually real.”
Despite the humorous protestations underneath that trademark fringe – which she claims became so long during lockdown that “birds and squirrels started nesting in it” – she is clearly super-talented.
She’s carved a hugely successful career in broadcasting. As well as Strictly, she currently presents her own BBC Radio 2 radio show – Claudia On Sunday – and hosts Best Home Cook. But it’s her latest role, as one of five judges for the 2020 Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award, she’s enthusing about today.
“I’m a keen reader – come to think of it, pretty much all I’ve done during lockdown is read and eat cake – so when they offered me this role, I said, ‘Bring it on, the more books the better’,” she says gleefully.
“I’m really excited about being part of an initiative like this, which gives new authors the chance to share their stories and be recognised on their own merit. It celebrates people who’ve seized the opportunity to create their own work and have it read by millions.”
Claudia, 48, is also welcoming the task as a diversion because, she declares wryly: “I’m genuinely not doing anything else, apart from really bad homeschooling. No one’s more relieved about this new role than my children, because it turns out teaching is not my super-power.”
In reality, she’s also finished writing a humorous memoir, Quite, set to be published in October, and has teamed up with her friend, clinical psychologist Tanya Byron, on their podcast, How Did We Get Here?
She’s clearly relished spending more time at home with the family this year.
Married to film producer Kris Thykier for 20 years – they have three children, Jake, 17, Matilda, 14, and Arthur, eight – she says: “I pretend to be busier than I am but the truth is, I’m essentially lazy, like a sloth really. I feel beyond lucky to be able to say that for me, the best part [of lockdown] has been enjoying the family being together all the time.”
But she’s quick to acknowledge that “this time been truly terrible for some people. I’m in awe of the sacrifices people have made being on the NHS frontline, and others keeping services going.”
In 2014, Matilda suffered severe burns when her Halloween costume caught fire. The incident prompted the government to tighten the flame retardant standards of Halloween costumes.
“I’ve always thought nurses were the most important people in the world, and not just because of what happened to my family, and this has made us all value them so much more,” Claudia adds.
She is characteristically candid about her efforts to home-school her youngest son.
“I start out every day wildly enthusiastic about trying to teach him something and promise it’s going to be awesome,” she says. “Then after half an hour, I’m tetchy because he’s not remembered something I’ve told him. It’s renewed my admiration for teachers, who are extraordinary.”
Her parenting style, she confides, is “very strict – I’m happy to be a quite unpopular and deeply embarrassing mum. That’s my main role. I have no interest whatever in being their best friend, I don’t think that’s my job, maybe when they’re older but not now.”
She insists on strict bedtimes, limits screen time, and resolutely avoids “an unrealistic idea of perfect parenting”.
“We put enormous pressure on ourselves to give them organic meals, do science and craft sessions, and then gather to discuss the works of Charles Dickens. That’s just not the way it really is. We just have to muddle through as best we can.”
Down-to-earth and unstarry, her glamorous on-screen persona isn’t, she reveals, replicated at home.
“It’s not sequins at home for me. I love the clothes on Strictly but I don’t get to keep them. One of the bonuses of the show is they completely take charge of my appearance and get me glammed up in a way I simply can’t achieve,” Claudia admits with a smile.
Vanity was discouraged when she was a child, she explains. “I was brought up by my mother, a staunch feminist [former newspaper editor, Eve Pollard], to think my appearance was the least interesting thing about me and not to worry about it. We didn’t have mirrors at home and I’ve followed that, and don’t have them in our home now.”
Ageing is something she takes in her stride. “I can’t wait to be 50, and I’m so excited about 60, if I live that long. I asked for a crochet set for my 21st birthday, so truly I’ve never been very interesting or ‘young’ young. Neither am I someone who puts on heels and wants to go out all the time – I’m far happier at home, talking to my girlfriends on the phone, and doing brain-teasers.
“I look after my wellbeing by taking naps – I really believe in the power of sleep,” she adds. “I don’t physically exert myself much. I did a yoga class and left half way through.”
She doesn’t hesitate when asked to name her biggest achievement: “Definitely my children. They say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and make toast for everyone. They’re good, humble and kind. I wouldn’t recommend showbusiness for them but they can do whatever they like, as long as they work hard and are friendly and kind.”
Claudia Winkleman is a judge for the 2020 Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award, open for entries from now until August 31. All titles must be enrolled in Kindle Direct Publishing Select while in the competition.