TV phenomenon Claudia Winkleman’s new show made its small screen debut last night, and fans have notes.
The Claudia Winkleman Show saw The Traitors presenter sit down for a chinwag with Jeff Goldblum, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Saunders and Tom Allen.
As well as the usual celebrity chat between the guests, the show featured a mix of crowd work with a series of planted audience members and even a surprise appearance from a dog.
However, some fans on X weren’t entirely impressed with the 54-year-old’s latest work.
@LukeDudley1 wrote on X: ‘The Claudia Winkleman Show is possibly the most chaotic television I’ve ever watched!’
Luke wasn’t the only one let down. @GaryTomWilliams wrote: ‘I was really looking forward to the Claudia Winkleman show, but I’m sad to say I found it mundane.’
However, perhaps the most withering criticism was that Claudia let her guest, Tom Allen, present the show as she slid into the background.
‘Claudia Winkleman’s show was awful,’ said @chris_facey_uk. ‘It was basically the Tom Allen show. Give him the job instead. Graham Norton is always in charge of his show, but she let the guests take the helm.’
This criticism wasn’t isolated to X either. On Reddit, fans agreed that the show needed some work adding Claudia couldn’t rely on guests to carry her in future.
‘Tom Allen ran the show, and he’s, as always, wonderful,’ claimed Lazycrockett.
‘This episode worked because of the guests. Winkleman needs to step up as host and control the show, which she may be able to do with some experience under her belt.
‘The guests were all game and having fun, but future guests may not be able to basically rule the couch.’
It wasn’t just the chattering masses on social media who took issue with Claudaia’s interview style.
In Metro’s three-star review, our reviewer said the former Strictly star’s ‘laid back hosting style left the show prone to clumsy moments’.
‘In such moments, it was Allen who saved the day, doing bit after bit from the end of the sofa,’ they added. ‘Did I look up tickets to the show he was promoting? Yes, I did. Winkleman felt disappointingly static by comparison.’
However, it’s now all bad news for the best fringe in show business.
Claudia’s immense popularity means there’s an awful lot of goodwill towards her, and fans are fairly pointing out it was just her first show.
Did you like the first episode of The Claudia Winkleman Show?
-
Yes
-
No
Hollow_Rant wrote on Reddit: ‘Christ, it’s the first episode, of course it’s going to be rough. Give her and the show time to find its voice and then give it an honest review.’
Caelinus agreed, claiming ‘All chat shows are sort of bad the first few episodes at a minimum in comparison to what they become later.
‘It takes a while for the talent and crew to really get comfortable in their roles across the board.’
So maybe we’ll have to give Claudia the benefit of the doubt for now and tune in next week once she’s found her feet a bit more.
The Claudia Winkleman show airs on Fridays on BBC One and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
