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Television and radio presenter Claudia Winkleman talks to Psychologies about taking wellness seriously in her 50s, the power of a good nap, and why she’ll never wear a sports bra
Now in it’s 21st series, Strictly Come Dancing, and, with it, the show’s co-presenter Claudia Winkleman, has become as much a part of Christmas as carols and crackers. With her famous eye-sweeping fringe, orange fake tan (her words) and quick humour, the 51-year-old says this is the decade where she’s really found her career ‘groove’.
‘I definitely feel more grateful in my 50s – both me and my family. I don’t know whether we even used that word when I was young,’ says Winkleman, who has also been confirmed to present season two of hit BBC show The Traitors.
‘I don’t want my career to end tomorrow – more than anything, I love the adrenaline. But if it does, I think I’ve had a ridiculously long run.
I can’t bear the arrogance of assuming that it’s just going to continue – I love a bit of imposter syndrome. I think it’s super healthy.’
It’s an attitude the presenter hopes to pass onto her children, too. ‘I’ve met people who don’t have it – they’re awful. I think it’s okay to think, “How have I got here?”, “When are they going to find out?”, and “I’m really not that good!”. And I want to instil that in my kids, too. Entitlement is not fine.’
Alongside her career, for Winkleman, wellness has taken more of a priority in her 50s than ever before. ‘I think it has to, because when I think back – it was 100 years ago – to my 20s, I was constantly zipping around; you were always just racing. You were like, “I have to do this, then I’m going to do that”. You had a gazillion friends.
‘Now, I can do all of that in the day if, at 8pm, I’m powering down – like an old laptop! That’s how I’d like you to think of me,’ she says, with a laugh. ‘I think as you get older, you don’t say yes to stuff that you don’t want to do. And I basically don’t want to do anything! Iam a pure homebody,’ she adds.
Winkleman, who has three children – Jake, 20, Matilda, 17, and Arthur, 12 – with husband Kris Thykier, has built a toolbox of techniques for self-care, among them CBD, which she turned to in lockdown when she was stressed and ‘very bad’ at home-schooling.
‘Without CBD oil, I was incapable of helping my youngest learn at home. I would march – in my pyjamas and mismatched socks – from one room to another shouting, “Darwin!”, “Focus!”, “Lymph nodes!”. Then I found CBD oil and felt much calmer. I thought, “I’ll find out about Dar
