TV PRESENTER CLAUDIA Winkleman has quit her BBC chat show after just one series.

While Winkleman is beloved in her role as host of The Traitors, many critics were disparaging of her chat show, The Claudia Winkleman Show, with some describing it as “messy” and a “bit of a bore”.

After the opening episode, The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan noted that the public “loved her on the radio, loved her on Strictly Come Dancing, revere her on The Traitors”.

However, Mangan added that “all of this remains true despite the unholy mess of the opening instalment of the long-and-loudly-heralded Claudia Winkleman Show”.

In a statement today, Winkleman said she was “too nervous to enjoy” her BBC chat show.

It launched in March and has come to an end after just one series which consisted of seven episodes.

During those seven episodes, Winkleman attracted some big names to the sofa.

Winkleman interviewed guests such as Lisa Kudrow, Jeff Goldblum, Niall Horan and Ralph Fiennes.

(left to right) Niall Horan, Rachel Zegler, Guz Khan and Joanne McNally with host Claudia Winkleman (back) during filming for The Claudia Winkleman Show Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Other guests included James McAvoy, Jamie Dornan, Joanne McNally and incoming Strictly Come Dancing co-host Josh Widdicombe.

Widdicombe was announced as one of the co-hosts of Strictly in May after Winkleman and Tess Daly stepped down from their hosting roles last October.

In a statement, Winkleman said she was “incredibly grateful to the BBC” for commissioning the programme, but that she had been “too nervous to enjoy it”.

“Sometimes you have to try something to see how it fits, and I realised I was just too nervous to enjoy it,” said Winkleman.

“Maybe one day I will give it another try, but for now I already have the best jobs in the world and absolutely love the shows I’m doing,” she added.

Winkleman’s chat show was produced by a production company co-founded by Graham Norton, which also makes his chat show.

In 2022, Norton reduced the number of episodes he makes and decided to drop the spring run in favour of a shorter series which airs over the autumn and winter.

The absence of his show between March and May made room for Winkleman’s series to launch in the same Friday night slot that Norton previously occupied on BBC One.

However, Winkleman herself acknowledged at the time that it was “completely nerve-racking” to take up a slot vacated by Norton, who she described as the “best of the best”.

The BBC today revealed that most episodes of The Claudia Winkleman Show attracted an average combined audience of between 1.5 and 2 million viewers.

The Graham Norton Show meanwhile generally attracts an audience of between 2.5m and 3 million viewers.

Ed Havard, director of entertainment at the BBC said that Winkleman’s “warmth and quick wit made The Claudia Winkleman Show an absolute joy”.

And while he said he “loved the show”, he added that he “fully respects her decision”.

“As the host of the country’s most-watched show, Claudia will be back on the BBC very soon when The Celebrity Traitors returns later this year, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for the new band of celebs.”