Strictly Come Dancing’s Claudia Winkleman is related to Royal Family but not many people realise

Strictly Come Dancing’s Claudia Winkleman has a surprise royal connection but you may never have heard about it until now.

Over the weekend (September 14), 52-year-old Claudia Winkleman officially returns to the BBC ballroom floor to co-host another launch show with Tess Daly.

The Traitors presenter has been at the helm of Strictly Come Dancing since 2004, having first presided over the spin-off series It Takes Two before working on the the results show between 2010 and 2013.

Following Sir Bruce Forsyth’s departure from the main programme in 2014, Claudia stepped into (and has remained in) his shoes ever since.

Outside of the reality TV mainstay, the mother-of-three has also worked on shows The Great British Sewing Bee, Channel 4’s The Piano and Britain’s Best Home Cook.

Born and raised in the Hampstead area of London, Claudia’s parents Eve Pollard and Barry Winkleman divorced when she was just three years old.

When she turned seven, the star’s mother married former News of the World and Daily Express editor, Sir Nicholas Lloyd, while her father said ‘I do’ to children’s author Cindy Black.

Following her parent’s remarriages, Claudia gained a paternal half-brother in Oliver Lloyd and a half-sister in actress Sophie Winkleman.

Claudia Winkleman (right) is set to return to Strictly Come Dancing (Instagram/claudiawinkle)

Sophie, 44 - who recently appeared in Wonka alongside Timotheé Chalamet and Helen Edmunson’s Belgravia: The Next Chapter - is married to Lord Frederick Windsor.

The 45-year-old is a British banker, the only son of the Prince and Princess of Kent and a first cousin once removed from Queen Elizabeth II.

The royal couple tied the knot at Hampton Court Palace after receiving a blessing from the late sovereign before welcoming two children into the world.

“I didn’t know anyone at my wedding. I had my best pals there but basically it was full of faces I’d never seen before,” Sophie admitted in a 2018 interview with Tatler.

“My mother-in-law, Princess Michael of Kent, took full personal charge of it all and did it brilliantly, including what dress I was wearing,” she continued.

“I was so determined not to be a bridezilla, I didn’t even work out my hairstyle and I cannot tell you how disgusting it looked.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the royal revealed why fans aren’t quick to make a connection between herself and her older sister.

Sophie Winkelman is Claudia's half-sister (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)

“We had very separate lives as kids: Claudia lived with her mum and she’s nine years older than me,” she confessed.

While it appears the siblings aren’t close, Sophie has previously professed to ‘loving’ William and Kate, The Prince and Princess of Wales.

“I love Kate and William, but they’re so busy and don’t live in London, so I don’t see them much,” she added.

Tune into the Strictly Come Dancing launch show this Saturday at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.