Strictly's Claudia Winkleman shares fears for return of award-winning TV show
Claudia Winkleman has established herself as one of TV's best presenters, so it comes as no surprise that she's in high demand these days. She's famed for fronting BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, but many will now associate her with hit reality TV show The Traitors, which began in 2022.
The 53 year old mum-of-three shows no signs of slowing down either, having also taken on hosting duties for Channel 4's new music show The Piano. The first series of the reality show aired in 2023, and while Claudia admits she's not musically gifted herself, she proved to be the perfect host of the show.
She's been busy filming the second series of The Piano along with singer-songwriter Mika and Chinese pianist Lang Lang, but admits she was apprehensive about creating the second instalment of the Channel 4 show, due to fears it wouldn't measure up to the first.
"We were a little worried, weren't we, all three of us? Because what was so beautiful about the show, which is what happens if people are playing and they don't know anyone's watching.
"And that is just unbelievably poetic. I’d just never heard of anything like that," Claudia says, referring to Mika and Lang being hidden away in season one, with pianists unaware of their involvement in the show.
Creating a second season meant the surprise element of The Piano would be completely eliminated, as pianists would know from the get-go what they were getting into, which understandably raised concerns.
"And then they knew so I was like, now they're gonna come in ball gowns and say under their breath ‘Hey Mika’," Claudia tells us. However, it turned out there was no need for her to worry, as the magic of the show has managed to remain the same, with Claudia noting that the some pianists didn't even arrive "wearing makeup".
In the age of reality TV fame and influencers, it's understandable to be concerned about people's intentions when taking part in a TV show. However, many pianists aren't even interested in pursuing music as a career and are simply taking part to "feel proud of themselves", Claudia says.
"This year, lots of them don't want to continue with music," the TV star says. "Somebody, who played really beautifully, I said, ‘Do you want music to be part of your life?’ He said, ‘Music Will always be part of my life, but I love working insurance.’ That's fair enough. He has a lovely life.
"So they're not coming to ‘change my life’. I think they want to feel proud of themselves and they want to make their families and friends proud," she adds.
The Piano season 2 will premiere on Sunday 28th April at 9pm on Channel 4.
