Claudia Winkleman's chat show ended after one series - can anyone replace Graham Norton?

Winkleman steppd down from her chat show last week following its seven-episode run When Lisa Kudrow appeared on The Claudia Winkleman Show earlier this year, she was visibly delighted to meet Linda from The Traitors. The Friends actress, probably the most famous guest the programme had during its seven-week run, said it was "thrilling" to meet one of the reality show's breakout stars, who she revealed had even inspired one of her own recent performances. As host of The Traitors, Winkleman was ideally placed to introduce the pair, resulting the kind of wonderfully bizarre meeting of minds normally seen on The Graham Norton Show. But Winkleman's own chat show did not last long enough for any more unusual guest combinations on its teal sofa. The presenter quit last week after just one series, saying she was simply "too nervous to enjoy it". It had made sense for the BBC to commission The Claudia Winkleman Show, given the presenter's popularity on programmes such as Strictly. There's a different level of pressure, however, hosting a show with your own name above the door. Lisa Kudrow (second left) said she was "thrilled" to meet Linda from the Traitors (far right) on the chat show "Everyone thought she could pull it off because she's smart and funny, but a chat show with multiple guests is very difficult to handle," the Telegraph's arts and entertainment editor, Anita Singh, tells BBC News. "You have to marshall the conversation, give each guest equal time, help them to plug whatever they're plugging, then cue in whatever anecdote they've agreed beforehand with the researchers. Graham Norton makes that look deceptively easy." She adds: "I think if Claudia had done a couple more series she would have become better at it. But she's at her best when she's being spontaneous, and the format allows very little space for that." Winkleman's decision to quit surprised many. The viewing figures were lower than Norton's, but still respectable. The reviews from critics were mixed, rather than universally bad. The BBC confirmed it was Winkleman's decision to stop, and implied that they would've happily commissioned a second series - and possibly already had. "My understanding is they had made a deal beyond one season," says Deadline's Jake Kanter, who has reported on the talk show throughout. "How formal that was, I don't know. So Television, which Norton co-owns, also produced Winkleman's show, and it could have been a neat way for the company to retain work when Norton does eventually quit.