Strictly's Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman share heartfelt message to fans during live show after shock exit news

If you're any sort of Strictly Come Dancing fan, you won't have missed the bombshell announcement this week that long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set to step down at the end of the ongoing season.

With that in mind, viewers were eagerly anticipating how the duo would address the news on tonight's episode of the beloved show – and in the end they offered a heartfelt message in the opening moments of the episode.

"Just before we get started, Claud and I announced this week that this will be our last series of Strictly Come Dancing," Tess said in her introduction.

"We want to thank you for your beautiful messages," Claudia added. "We've got another eight weeks on this incredible show and a Strictly champion to crown."

And Tess continued: "We cannot wait to spend the rest of the series with you, with our amazing couples and of course with these four," before welcoming the judges to the show.

This week is the annual Icons Week, which has seen the couples dancing to songs from some of the most legendary recording artists of all time, with the likes of Dolly Parton, Beyoncé and Johnny Cash among the singes represented in this week's song choices.

And the judges have very much embraced the theme, with Craig Revel Horwood decked out as John Lennon, Motsi Mabuse dressed as Grace Jones, Shirley Ballas channelling Elvis Presley and Anton Du Beke opting for a David Bowie costume.

The announcement that Tess and Claudia were set to stand down from the show came on Thursday, with the pair sharing a joint statement on Instagram in which they said that "now feels like the right time" to depart.

"We will cry when we say the last 'keep dancing' but we will continue to say it to each other," they added. "Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza."

They both went on to share longer solo statements in which they went into details about the huge impact the show had had on their lives and careers.

The presenting duo have hosted the series together since 2014, with Daly at the helm since the very first season and Winkleman making the move from spin-off It Takes Two to the main results show in 2010, before taking on full weekend duties following Sir Bruce Forsyth's departure.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday 25th October at 6:25pm.

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