Strictly Tess Daly’s real name, x rated video and ‘disrespecting’ parents’
Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly has become a firm fan favourite and has had an interesting career to date.
Strictly Come Dancing's Tess Daly is an ever present star of the BBC's hit dance show alongside sidekick Claudia Winkleman - but the beloved host has had an interesting life behind the scenes.
Tess Daly isn't even the 54-year-old's real name, and the host first burst onto the scene starring nude in an obscure 90s pop video before her TV fame really took off - and indeed, before she met her famous husband.
Tess' early life saw her start out as a model aged 17 before she became the household name she is today.
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Tess Daly's real name and teen modelling
Tess Daly was born as Helen Elizabeth Daly but she changed her name early on. Helen was first spotted by a talent scout as she was stood outside McDonald's waiting for her sister and ended up with a modelling career as a result.
At the time, there was already another woman working in the industry called Helen Daly, so Helen was told to change her name to Tess Daly by her agent. Her agent was apparently inspired by the Nastassja Kinski film of the same name.
Tess has never actually changed her name officially though. She said in 2020: "I've never changed it by deed poll anything because I think it would be disrespectful to my parents"
Tess Daly's nude video
That's right, a young Tess Daly, back then relatively unknown, starred in a music video.
Tess was shown naked, one leg bent, facing towards the camera alongside several other models in the 1993 video for The Beloved's single Sweet Harmony.
Although there's some white fog to cover Tess' blushes, Tess has since admitted that she looks back on the video - shot when she was just 24 years old - and cringes.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Tess said: "I cringe when I'm reminded of the video for The Beloved's Sweet Harmony track."
"It was a studio of models with nothing but Elastoplast to protect our modesty."
Is Tess Daly married and does she have kids?
As many know, mum-of-two Tess Daly is married to Vernon Kay.
Vernon, 50, is a former model who become famous on T4 and T4 On The Beach for Channel 4, and also worked on the BBC and ITV on various programmes.
Vernon married Tess Daly in Bolton, his home city, on September 12, 2003. The pair have two children aged 20 and 15, called Phoebe and Amber.
