Claudia Winkleman reveals how she was saved by her psychologist friend after she was ‘blindsided’ when her daughter was set on fire in a horror trick or treating accident
Strictly star Claudia Winkleman has said she was saved by her psychologist friend after her daughter’s horrifying Halloween accident left her ‘blindsided’.
Miss Winkleman’s daughter Matilda, then eight years old, suffered severe burns after her costume brushed a candle and set her on fire while trick or treating in 2014.
The TV presenter was forced to temporarily step down from hosting Strictly Come Dancing and went on to become a staunch campaigner for the safety and regulations around the materials used in children’s fancy dress costumes.
Strictly Star Claudia Winkleman (pictured at the Save The Children Centenary Gala at The Roundhouse on May 9) said she was saved by her psychologist friend Tanya Byron after her daughter’s horrifying Halloween accident left her ‘blindsided’
Child and adolescent clinical psychologist Tanya Byron was among the first people Miss Winkleman contacted after the accident. The two became friends after working together on BBC3 show The House of Tiny Tearaways in 2005.
‘I just knew I would need Tanya,’ Miss Winkleman told The Times magazine. ‘I did [need her] and she put me back together again, let’s just say that. I am incredibly lucky that I happen to have an incredible friend who happens to be in my eyes the world’s best clinical psychologist and I was facing something that felt difficult.’
She continued: ‘I don’t want to use big words because I have to be respectful to [my daughter] and the rest of my family, but Tanya genuinely, well, she saved me.’
Winkleman said Tanya Byron (pictured with Dr Chris van Tulleken on What’s The Right Diet For You?) was an ‘incredible friend’ who helped put her back together after the accident
Daughter Matilda (pictured with father Kris), then eight years old, suffered severe burns after her costume brushed a candle and set her on fire while trick or treating in 2014
Miss Winkleman said she used to ‘replay the trauma’ in the wake of the ordeal and struggled to not be hypervigilant with her daughter and two sons Jake, 16, and Arthur, eight, who she shares with her husband Kris Thykier.
She said Miss Byron gave her ‘majestic’ advice on how to parent without being overprotective, telling her: ‘You have to be able to sit on a cliff and enjoy the fact that it is the most beautiful day and sometimes a storm will come in.’
Miss Winkleman first opened up about her daughter’s horrifying ordeal on BBC’s Watchdog programme in 2015.
Winkleman pictured with Strictly co-star Tess Daly. The fun-loving brunette was forced to step down from hosting the celebrity-studded programme and went on to become a staunch campaigner for the safety and regulations around the materials used in children’s fancy dress costumes, following her daughter’s accident
She described the devastating incident as ‘life changing,’ adding: ‘I can’t remember life before it.’
Matilda suffered severe burns on her legs with neighbour Jamie Poulton sustaining second degree burns after he tried to put her out with his bare hands.
Speaking at the time, Mr Poulton said Matilda’s costume turned into a ‘crackling ball of flame’.
The Strictly host attends the Premiere Screening for the new season of Sky Original “Riviera” at The Saatchi Gallery with husband Kris Thykier
‘All the children were wearing the same kit,’ he told The Daily Mail. ‘It was like a potential horror film in front of me, because they were all going to go. This material just keeps reigniting and re-burning. And it is sticky, so it melts on the skin. It doesn’t cinder. It remains hot. It was horrific to be honest.’
Miss Winkleman and Miss Byron were speaking in the wake of the release of their new podcast How Did We Get Here? which explores the most vulnerable emotions faced by real-life parents and family members.