Major Irish star ‘tipped to replace’ Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as new Strictly host

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced their departure last week

Following the shock departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman last week, Strictly fans are now convinced, and over the moon, that Maura Higgins could be up for the gig.

After rising to fame on Love Island in 2019, where she entered the villa as a bombshell, Higgins has continued her career in TV and media, appearing on several reality shows and presenting the American version of Love Island: Aftersun.

The 34-year-old is currently sitting at 8/1 odds to replace Tess and Claudia as a Strictly co-host, according to Ladbrokes.

Other presenters who could also potentially be in the running include Roman Kemp, Rylan Clark, Zoe Ball, Strictly: It Takes Two co-presenter Fleur East, and former Strictly champions Stacey Dooley and Rose Ayling-Ellis.

When speaking on the matter, Cal Gildart of Ladbrokes, said: "Maura Higgins is never long off our screens, and it looks like her next endeavour could be a big one as the host of Strictly Come Dancing. Punters believe her wit and style would bring a new shine to the show," per Goss.ie.

Just last week, Strictly Come Dancing fans were left gobsmacked when Tess and Claudia announced their departure from the beloved BBC show in a video statement on their Instagram accounts.

The full statement read: "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."