Fans shocked as Claudia Winkleman looks ‘unrecognisable’ in resurfaced interview

With The Traitors having taken over pretty much everyone's lives in the last couple of weeks, Claudia Winkleman has been gaining new fans all over the place.

Winkleman has been a regular face on our television screens for years, hosting shows like Strictly Come Dancing and The Piano.

Her famous fringe has also made the presenter a fan favourite.

But an unearthed clip of the 52-year-old in her younger years has left people in shock.

The clip comes from a 1996 interview Winkleman did for the BBC morning show Good Morning with Anne and Nick.

Needless to say, Winkleman looks virtually unrecognizable.

BBC

Twitter user @imshanereaction tweeted: "I can't stop watching this 1996 interview with Claudia Winkleman that is 0% fringe and 100% posh phone voice."

Another wrote: "Could've been her mother talking," which was reiterated by another commenter: "She looks so much like her mum!"

Others expressed their surprise at Winkleman's distinct lack of fringe.

"What do you mean she wasn't born with a fringe?!" one person tweeted.

For some viewers, there were comparisons to be drawn.

BBC

"She sounds like Diana" one person said, with another remarked: "She's had a bit of that coaching Thatcher had; changed the shape of her face to talk normal."

You get the idea - she sounds very posh.

So, what was she talking about in this clip with her surprisingly posh accent?

Flirting tips, of course!

What is Winkleman's secret to chatting somebody up, then?

"Eye contact", Winkleman said in the interview. "It's all about eye contact. But it can be terrifying.

"You can be sitting on the side of a bar making eye contact for about an hour and a half. And then he'll leave!"

Admittedly, that anecdote makes it sound as though eye contact isn't a very effective flirting technique.

Winkleman was about 24 at the time of this interview and was just making a name for herself in the TV world.

She got her start on the travel show Holiday, serving as a presenter from 1992 onwards.

By the mid-1990s, she'd secured a gig as a reporter at This Morning, where she would interview big name celebs.

In this period, she also took on presenting several game shows including Three's A Crowd, Telephone Numbers, Fanorama and God's Gift.

Thirty years in the business is not bad going by any means, and she's arguably at the top of her game all these years later.

But it's not a low maintenance life by any means, as she admitted she goes to extreme lengths to keep her tan topped up.

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