By Angie Quinn

Copyright dailystar

Claudia Winkleman, the beloved host of Strictly Come Dancing, is renowned for her signature hairstyle, but there was a time when she sported a very different look. The latest series of BBC One’s dance competition Strictly has kicked off with this weekend’s launch show, and Claudia is back in action alongside co-host Tess Daly . However, before Claudia graced the Strictly ballroom , she featured on another BBC programme sporting a drastically different appearance to the one we’re familiar with today. Back in 1996, a then 24 year old Claudia appeared on BBC’s Good Morning with Anne and Nick as a self-proclaimed chat-up expert. She participated in a segment about ‘boosting your pulling power’, discussing how women prefer to be approached and attract attention from the opposite sex. When the episode originally aired, Claudia looked radiant with long brown hair and a wispy side fringe, reports Wales Online . Her makeup was more understated, featuring light eye shadow and a berry lip gloss. During the segment, presenter Nick Owen asked Claudia if she often got “chatted up”, to which she responded: “No, hardly ever.” Claudia went on to recount an incident where a man approached her friend, only to turn his attention to Claudia after being rebuffed. “He said, ‘I would have asked you, but you’re a bit sure of yourself’,” she shared, pulling a worried face at Nick. Claudia also touched on using eye contact as a means to catch the attention of someone you’re romantically interested in. However, she joked that this tactic doesn’t always yield the desired results, saying: “It can be terrifying as you can be sitting at the other end of the bar making eye contact for about an hour and a half, and then he’ll leave!”. In terms of her signature style, Claudia has largely stuck to her dramatic dark hair throughout her time on Strictly, briefly experimenting with blonde highlights. She believes this look has been beneficial to her career. While some might view having a perfect fringe as high maintenance, Claudia thinks it’s actually easier when your fringe “starts at the back of your head”. She previously told Grazia: “I love eyeliner, but you don’t even need makeup really.” Claudia added that with a heavy fringe, some worn boots, and a book in hand, you’re good to go, likening the look to a “If you’ve got a very heavy fringe, you’re wearing some old, battered, buckled-up boots, and you’re holding a book, then you’re done. You look like a real-life pirate.” Claudia has been married to film producer Kris Thykier for 25 years and has three children – Jake, Matilda, and Arthur – but tends to keep her family life out of the public eye. Strictly Come Dancing airs every Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer