Tess Daly's 'tears' after BBC colleague branded her 'pneumatic bird-brain'

Tess Daly has been a staple on our screens for almost 30 years - but in a resurfaced interview it appears another BBC presenter dubbed the presenter as a 'bird brain'

Tess Daly, the beloved BBC star known for her long-standing role on Strictly Come Dancing since 2004 alongside the legendary Bruce Forsyth, has faced a few controversies throughout her career. The 55 year old TV icon found herself at the centre of a media storm following her involvement in the Diamond Jubilee coverage. A throwback to a 2013 interview reveals Tess addressing the harsh criticism she faced, particularly from her BBC colleague Michael Buerk, who infamously called her a "pneumatic bird-brain."

Michael – who appeared on I'm A Celebrity alongside Gemma Collins – blasted her, saying: "The Dunkirk Little Ships, the most evocative reminders of this country’s bravest hour, were ignored so that a pneumatic bird-brain from Strictly Come Dancing could talk..." He continued: "I was so ashamed of the BBC I would have wept if I hadn’t been so angry. A succession of airheads preened themselves or gossiped with even more vacuous D-list celebrities. With barely an exception they were cringingly inept."

Despite the support from her circle, Tess, married to TV personality Vernon Kay since 2003, initially chose not to retaliate. However, she eventually opened up in a Radio Times interview, asserting: "If you’re in the public eye, criticism comes with the territory. I’m confident of my ability to drive a show in on time and do my job well. I like to think I can rise above that."

Tess Daly, a household name and one half of the Strictly Come Dancing presenting duo alongside Claudia Winkleman, recently left fans gobsmacked when she revealed her real name isn't 'Tess'. The starlet, who has been in the limelight since she was 17, started her career as a model after being spotted outside a McDonald's in Manchester.

However, back then, she wasn't known as Tess Daly. In fact, Tess is her stage name, a revelation that has left Strictly fans reeling. Born Helen Elizabeth Daly in 1969 to parents Vivian and Sylvia, she adopted the moniker 'Tess' when she embarked on her modelling career but never legally changed it out of respect for her folks. She explained the reason behind the name change was due to another 'Helen Davies' already being at the agency when she started modelling at 17.

To avoid confusion, she was advised to drop 'Helen Daly'. Her agent, who was "obsessed" with actress Nastassja Kinski from the 1979 film 'Tess', suggested the name 'Tess'. She 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."

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.