Hello and welcome to How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, the podcast that

celebrates the things that haven't gone right. This is a podcast about learning from our mistakes and understanding that why we

fail ultimately makes us stronger because learning how to fail in life actually means learning how to succeed better.

I'm your host, author and journalist Elizabeth Day,

and every week I'll be asking a new interviewee

what they've learned from failure. When Claudia

Winkleman was younger her parents gave her advice for entering the world of

work. Make the tea whoever you are.

And although these days she is far beyond the realms of making the tea,

you can imagine she still does it.

Her nature as a broadcaster is always to be on your side, whether you're a viewer, a listener, or a contestant.

On Strictly Come Dancing, which she has co-hosted with Tess Daly for almost a decade,

Winkleman is the one who cheers up Ed Balls

after he's received a three from the judges.

On her Saturday morning radio two show,

she encourages her millions of listeners

to phone in and take part. And although her

Baffa-winning stint fronting the traitors showed us a darker side,

Winkleman still ended up giving the main traitor a hug when they had a meltdown.

I have no time for perfect, she has said.

The perfect dinner party, the perfect bed spread, the perfect conversation starter.

That all makes me feel nauseous. I like ramshackle and funny and smart,

...