TALKING POINTS | Strictly, Brookside, Corriedale, The Celebrity Traitors
- Elliot Gonzalez
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
Here's what's got me talking this week...
It's that time of the week again when I take a look back at the last 7 days to see what has got me talking the most.
From Tess and Claudia leaving Strictly to record ratings for The Celebrity Traitors and more, here are my 4 telly talking points of the week...
1
TESS DALY & CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN
announced that they're leaving Strictly
On Thursday morning, a shock announcement from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on their Instagram channels marked the end of an era for Strictly Come Dancing as they both announced that they would be leaving the hit Saturday night show at the end of this current series.
Hours later, the BBC confirmed the news themselves, and also that their final appearance together will be on Christmas Day in the Christmas special. It is thought that the decision was made last year and that they would always leave the show together.
Tess and Claudia have co-hosted Strictly Come Dancing together since 2014. Tess has presented the show since its very first episode alongside Sir Bruce Forsyth, whilst Claudia originally presented Strictly: It Takes Two before moving over to host the results show alongside Tess in 2010.
Since 2014, Tess and Claudia have presented the main show and results show together and were the first all-female duo to host a primetime entertainment programme on British TV. In June 2025, Tess and Claudia were both made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for their services to broadcasting.
On leaving Strictly, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman 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."
"They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll 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.
And the news didn't go unmentioned during Saturday night's show, with Tess and Claudia beginning the show by acknowledging their announcement, with Tess telling viewers, "Just before we get started, Claud and I announced this week that this will be our last series of Strictly Come Dancing."
Before Claudia, not wishing for their announcement to overshadow the competition, added "We want to thank you for your beautiful messages. We've got another 8 weeks on this incredible show and a Strictly champion to crown."
And that was that, until up in the Clauditorium, La Voix pulled Claudia aside and asked "While I've got you, do you know the address where you send your CV to the BBC, just in case there's any new jobs coming up? I'm just asking for a friend." With Claudia in hysterics, she let her read the next link... and with her right hand on her hip, La Voix read "TESS", complete with Claudia's hand movement. I thought that was such a brilliant way to nod to the news, which was genuinely funny.
Of course, since the news broke, the internet has been full of speculation over who could host the show next. Will they promote current It Takes Two hosts Fleur East and Janette Manrara? Could Anton get up from behind the judges' desk to host the show, either alone or in a duo? Could previous It Takes Two hosts Zoe Ball and/or Rylan make a return to host the main show? Even Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton have been suggested!
Other names, currently unconnected to the show, who are being suggested include Alex Scott, Alison Hammond, Bradley Walsh, Hannah Waddingham, Holly Willoughby, and Roman Kemp.
Whoever takes over, one thing's for certain, they have huge shoes to fill. The judges have come and gone over the years, but Tess and Claudia have held that show together brilliantly and will be missed. But with Claudia currently beating Strictly in the ratings with The Celebrity Traitors and Tess Daly having hosted for 21 years, perhaps the time is right to hand the baton over.
Or, with so much controversy in recent years and declining viewing figures, could the show be due for a break?
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday nights on BBC One
2
BROOKSIDE RETURNED
for a special crossover episode with Hollyoaks
It was one of the most highly anticipated soap moments of the year, and on Wednesday night, as part of Hollyoaks' 30th anniversary celebrations, Brookside returned almost 22 years to the day since it ended, as part of a special crossover episode, and it was SO GOOD.
I'll be honest, when the episode began, with just the Hollyoaks theme tune playing and the immediate aftermath of the spectacular plane crash in the village, I was a little worried that Brookside wouldn't feature as much as us Brookie fans were hoping for.
Thankfully, the episode soon treated us to the original Brookside theme music, as Donny, picked up in Sinbad's taxi, travelled from the village to Brookside Close, only to be greeted by an angry Sheila Grant, who had read the eulogy had Donny's funeral 20 years ago.
And it's then that we discovered that Donny Clark's true identity is Brookie favourite Mick Johnson! It's soon explained that 20 years ago, Mick had an affair with Froggy Black's wife. But with Froggy having planned to have Mick murdered, he had no choice but to fake his death and start a new life.
But with Froggy now living in Hollyoaks Village, he had to head back to "The Close" to warn Sheila Grant and Billy Corkhill, who have been looking after his daughter Gemma since his "death", and reveal that he isn't dead after all. And that storyline continued in a rather dark episode of Hollyoaks Later.
Aside from the Mick/Donny drama, there were some lovely moments for Brookie fans, with old favourites Shelia, Bobby, Barry, Tinhead and Nikki all back for the special occasion. And there was a touching tribute to Dean Sullivan, with a photo of the late actor who passed away in 2023 and was adored as Jimmy Corkhill, in the back of shot in Sheila's living room. And there was a beautiful moment between Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston as Bobby and Shelia, which I won't ruin in case you're yet to watch.
Alex Fletcher, who plays Diane in Hollyoaks, and before that Jacqui Dixon in Brookside, appeared to hand the baton over to her real-life and now also on-screen daughter, Yaz Davies, who debuted as Jacqui's daughter Esme Dixon.
And if you're wondering what this all means for the way Brookside ended, with everyone selling up to let developers demolish the cul-de-sac to make space for an access road, it was all explained as Sinbad drove Mick back to the Close and on his comment that it hadn't changed much, explained "It would have been razed to the ground if those developers had got their way."
But for me, the best treat for Brookside and Hollyoaks fans was the special cameo from the two soaps' creator, Sir Phil Redmond, who turned out to be Sinbad's next fare, wanting to go to The Dog in the Pond pub. When Sinbad says "there's been a big to-do there today", Phil replies with the most brilliant line - "Story of my life, mate. From one drama to another." Beautiful.
All in all, it was a wonderfully nostalgic trip back to Brookside Close, and I'd love to see it return full-time, but with the current landscape, it's sadly unlikely that it'll happen. To be honest, I'd settle for a few more crossover episodes.
Hollyoaks continues Mondays to Wednesdays at 7pm on E4 with first look episodes available at 7am on Channel 4 streaming
3
CORRIEDALE
to celebrate the soap's 30th anniversary
This week, ahead of Coronation Street and Emmerdale's special crossover episode, Corriedale, which will air in January, ITV released two images from filming, confirming that DS Lisa Swain, played by Vicky Myers, and Aaron Dingle, played by Danny Miller, are the first two iconic characters to star in the drama-filled, one-hour special.
Taken on the first of a series of exhilarating night shoots, the photos show actors Vicky Myers and Danny Miller together in a rare behind-the-scenes moment before action was called.
Lisa Swain’s life on the cobbles has been thrown into chaos these last few weeks after the return from the dead of her police wife, ex Becky.
As we approach this milestone episode, commissioned to launch ITV’s new Soaps power hour schedule, viewers will be more convinced than ever that there’s a more sinister side to Becky lurking beneath.
Over in the Dales, Danny’s character Aaron has seen off his ex-husband, killer John Sugden, but just as things were looking back on track with the love of his life, Robert Sugden, Robert’s secret prison husband, Kev, turned up. It’s safe to say things aren’t going to be straightforward for this couple anytime soon.
What leads Lisa and Aaron to find their lives intertwined on a dark and foreboding night in January? And which other Coronation Street and Emmerdale favourites will feature in the action-packed and climactic episode?
While the exact plot is being kept under wraps, ITV has confirmed that the one-off hour-long spectacular will feature explosive scenes, nail-biting drama and never-before-seen interactions between some of the nation’s most loved soap characters.
Corriedale will air in January on ITV1
4
THE CELEBRITY TRAITORS
broke its own ratings record
⚠︎ CONTAINS EPS 5-6 SPOILERS ⚠︎
The Celebrity Traitors is THE biggest television show right now, and its ratings have been sensational... and it's only going to grow.
Previously, the most-watched episode overnight was the Series 3 finale earlier this year, which was watched by 7.3million people. But this week's episodes have both pushed past that number to become the two most-watched episodes ever.
On Wednesday night, 7.5million of us, 49% of everyone watching telly at 9pm, tuned in to watch Charlotte Church be murdered by the Traitors, Alan Carr flung up in the air in a net and a tense roundtable which ended in a history-making tie.
Then on Thursday night, numbers grew by half a million to an all-time high (again) of 8million viewers, with 50% of the viewing public tuning in to watch the fallout of the tie played out. Mark Bonnar and David Olusoga each had to pick a chest, but only one contained a shield which would save them from banishment. Sadly for Mark, it was David who found the shield, and Mark was banished. And at breakfast the following morning, the players discovered that the Traitors had murdered Joe Wilkinson.
Then, a game of chess saw an alliance created between faithfuls Nick Mohammed and Joe Marler, which ultimately saw the most shocking banishment to date when it came to the roundtable... Sir Stephen Fry!
And just as the episode ended, those at risk from murder, Nick Mohammed, Kate Garraway and Lucy Beaumont were invited back to the chessboard, where one of them would come face-to-face with the Traitors to be murdered. But who will it be? We'll ALL be tuning in on Wednesday to find out.
If the show continues this trajectory, we might well be looking at 10million viewers for the finale on Thursday 9th November. But the biggest question is, will the faithful ever find a Traitor?!
The Celebrity Traitors continues Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One
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