CLAUDIA Winkleman was overwhelmed with emotion tonight as she kicked off the Strictly Come Dancing finale.
The host, 48, held back tears as she thanked the show’s crew for pulling together to get Strictly on air in 2020.
“Earlier this year we didn’t know if Strictly could even happen,” said Claudia.
“Tonight our audience is made up of the brilliant team that got us here…”
She choked up before adding: “Thank you so much.”
Her co-host Tess Daly shouted: “Thank you team” as the whole studio erupted into cheers.
She added: “If people ever needed cheering up, it’s now.
“So after a tough day we are going to try our very best to keep you entertained with an unforgettable night of dance.”
Strictly bosses were forced to scrap its small studio audience due to Covid rules that banned mixing indoors.
NHS workers and some friends and family had been present for the first two weeks.
Tonight the audience is made up of the crew who helped to bring Strictly live every Saturday night for the past nine weeks.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood promised to be “positive” throughout the show finale after today’s grim news.
Just two hours before Strictly went on air, Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled Christmas for 17 million people in England – with London and the South East to be plunged into a new Tier 4 lockdown from midnight tonight.
Travel and different households mixing will be banned under the new highest level tier – with families elsewhere only allowed to form ‘Christmas bubbles’ on December 25 itself, the PM told the nation today.
