The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman has opened up about the hilariously extreme lengths she’s gone to for the sake of her trademark tan, admitting: “Needs must.”
Winkleman, 51, is back on our screens in her gorgeous knitwear as she fronts the highly anticipated second season of The Traitors, which has already delivered a fair few bombshells – both in terms of the game itself, and her incredible outfits – after premiering last week.
Yep, we’re all almost as obsessed with the presenter’s iconic collection of jumpers and signature smoky eye as we are with the drama at the round table.
But it takes a lot of work for her to look this good, apparently... Well, only if she can’t find her fake tan, that is.
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Her addiction began back at university, when she rented a sunbed for a whole term in her 'tiny halls of residence' at New Hall College, Cambridge.
"It was so unhealthy when I think back now," she said on the In The Bathroom beauty video blog, adding that she now goes for the safer route of having someone come to her home to give her a fake tan using a pop-up tent.
But there's something else Winkleman's tried in the past to achieve a tan without getting on a sunbed.
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Speaking on Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour with Emma Barnett last month, Winkleman revealed she used to turn to some truly unexpected household items as a bit of a budget beauty hack.
Given how expensive and laborious fake tanning can be, we’re all open to something that might make things cheaper and easier.
But it turns out you’ll have to some pretty bizarre lengths for that – as Winkleman once learnt for herself.
She recalled: “I'm going back to university here, when everything was reused, and I mean everything.”
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Barnett chipped in to say a tea bag could be reused for another brew, which prompted Winkleman to say: “Or fake tan, because I've done that before.”
While Barnett sounded taken aback by the suggestion, things got even weirder when Winkleman continued.
"Of course I have - and Bisto,” she said. “Listen... needs must, needs must.”
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These days, we’d imagine Winkleman doesn’t have much need to reuse her old teabags – which tend to send husband Kris ‘mad’ as she always ends up leaving them in the sink.
We imagine he wouldn’t be quite so annoyed if he knew what the alternative is for them...
Jess Hardiman