Tess Daly has been a fixture on our screens since she was 17, but the Strictly Come Dancing host wasn’t always known by her famous moniker – and fans are stunned
Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly(Image: Tess Daly Instagram)
The festive season is upon us, and with it comes the return of Strictly Come Dancing, complete with a whirlwind of sequins and spray tans.
This year’s line-up includes celebrities such as Stefan Dennis, Thomas Skinner, Vicky Pattison and George Clarke strutting their stuff for the show’s beloved panel of judges, including Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabusi, and presenting duo Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
Tess has been a familiar face on our screens since she was just 17. The now 56 year old TV personality kick-started her career as a model after being spotted outside a McDonald’s in Manchester while waiting for her sister.
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However, Tess wasn’t always known by that name.
In fact, ‘Tess’ isn’t her real name but a professional pseudonym, a revelation that has left viewers gobsmacked.
Born Helen Elizabeth Daly in 1969, she adopted the name Tess when she started modelling, but never officially changed it out of respect for her parents, Vivian and Sylvia, reports the Mirror.
She explained the reason behind her name change, revealing that when she began modelling at 17, there was already a Helen Davies at her agency. As a result, she was advised to drop ‘Helen Daly’ due to its similarity.
The name Tess was suggested by her agent who was “obsessed” with actress Nastassja Kinski, star of the 1979 film Tess.
Tess, who hosts Strictly alongside Claudia Winkleman, recalled: “So Tess it was. I was gullible and impressionable.
“Mind you, two weeks later, I was in Japan, then I travelled the world Paris, Milan, New York,” reports OK!
The television favourite has revealed that just one person consistently uses her real name, sharing: “My mum’s really the only person who still calls me Helen, and that’s not often.
“She tends to call me ‘love’, so when she does say ‘Helen’ it can take me a while to respond.”
Tess revealed: “I’ve never changed it by deed poll or anything because I think it would be disrespectful to my parents.”
Viewers were stunned by the bombshell, with one person posting a gobsmacked video on social media, declaring: “Me after finding out that Tess Daly’s real name is Helen. Can’t look at her the same now, I feel lied to.”
Another commented: “Been watching her since I was tiny and never knew.”
A third chimed in: “I have so many questions.”
Tess and her spouse BBC Radio 2 host Vernon Kay married using her birth surname back in 2003.
The couple tied the knot in an emotional ceremony in Vernon’s home town of Bolton on September 12, 2003, and are loving parents to two daughters, Phoebe and Amber.
Last year Tess revealed her secrets for keeping her youthful looks whilst accepting that lines are simply part of the ageing process.
In an honest conversation with Closer, she admitted, “I’ve got wrinkles galore. You know when you look down at your iPhone and the camera is open, and you go, ‘Oh my God!’ I’m at that point – but what’s the alternative?”.
Tess disclosed she sticks to a particular beauty regime to preserve her radiant complexion, confessing to applying less cosmetics now than during her younger days, even when appearing on television.
Tess maintains she’s never undergone plastic surgery but does invest in skincare procedures such as Ultratherapy, which lifts and firms the skin, beginning at approximately £500.
