Tess Daly returns to TV for first time since Strictly exit for stint on The One Show

It was the end of an era when Tess Daly left the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom for good last year after 21 years at the helm – however, she’s already back on the Beeb two months later.

The ex model made her return to TV last night on The One Show, teaming up with her husband Vernon Kay for the first time in nearly two decades. The couple last presented on screen together for the BBC’s 2006 reality competition Just the Two of Us.

Daly, 56, and Kay, 51, made their One Show debut together on Wednesday (25 February), with the show announcing on X beforehand: “Hosting together for the first time in nearly 20 years, Vernon Kay & Tess Daly are joined by...Jessie Buckley, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson & Yerin Ha.”

The pair stepped in for regular host Alex Jones and Roman Kemp, who were filming the final of BBC children’s writing competition 500 Words competition at Windsor Castle.

After explaining their absence, Kay told viewers: “But don't worry because look who we have here, someone I know will definitely keep me in check... TV royalty Tess Daly.”

Daly added: “Wow, I'm thrilled to be here, such a special show.”

The couple first met in 2001 while both at the start of their presenting careers, with Kay hosting T4 while Daly worked on rival SMTV. After recreating a Britney Spears music video together for Top of the Pops@play, the pair started dating and ultimately tied the knot in 2003.

They welcomed their first daughter Phoebe a year later, while their second daughter Amber in 2009.

After leaving SMTV, Daly joined comedian Bruce Forsyth to host Strictly Come Dancing in 2004 – sticking with the show for 21 years before choosing to leave last year. In a joint statement with co-presenter Claudia Winkleman, who took over from Forsyth in 2014, she 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.”

While their final live show was the 2026 Strictly final, which saw Karen Carney emerge as last year’s champion, they officially ended their tenure when the pre-recorded Christmas special aired in December.