Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly said she and Claudia Winkleman have proved they are not past their "sell-by date" by fronting the show together.

The 45-year-old model and presenter will be joined by 42-year-old Winkleman as full-time co-presenter after Sir Bruce Forsyth retired from the BBC series, and Tess is proud to be championing "Girl Power".

She told Good Housekeeping magazine: "I know - two women hosting the biggest show on TV! And in our 40s ... Surprise, surprise, we're not past our sell-by date.

"It's a huge compliment that the BBC has broken the traditional male/female hosting format, and all credit to them for being the first to do it. I saw Geri Halliwell at an event recently, and she actually said the words 'Girl Power' to me. I loved that."

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One for its 12th series on Sunday September 7 at 8pm.

Tess has co-hosted the show with Sir Bruce, 86, since it began in 2004 and was joined by Winkleman in 2011 to present the Sunday night results shows.

Tess said of working with Winkleman: "After 10 years it's a big change. But hand on heart, we are having a blast! Claudia is so much fun. She is a career woman but, like me, a mum first and foremost. She is incredibly talented and things she says off the cuff are hysterical."

The mother-of-two - who is marred to TV presenter Vernon Kay - also spoke about the pressure on women to have cosmetic procedures to preserve their youth, insisting she would not have anything done to her face.

Tess said: "I haven't gone down that slippery slope. I think when you're on TV and people have grown up seeing you, it feels like cheating. I fear you would end up looking frozen or as if you have some scary mask on. That said, I would like to have fewer wrinkles!"

She added: "I'm glad for the wisdom age has brought me. I am way more relaxed in my own skin. Your focus changes, and I'm happier now than I have ever been."

::The full interview with Daly appears in the October issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale on Thursday September 4.