'Never again': Claudia Winkleman reveals the real reason she stepped away from her chat show and the surprise career achievement she considers her 'greatest honour'

Claudia Winkleman is definitely something of an enigma - a midlife woman at the peak of her career, and someone who chooses to live without mirrors and has absolutely zero cares to give about her appearance.

These are things very few many women achieve, not because they can't, but because society simply won't let them. Claudia is breaking the mould without people even noticing, and we love her for it.

After she famously walked away from her highly anticipated chat show earlier this year after one series, the presenter moved straight on to other projects and treated it as a learning curve.

Now, she's opened up about the real reason she stepped away from The Claudia Winkleman Show, also revealing the unexpected "greatest honour" of her career in the process.

In true Claudia fashion, she also shares the trait she finds most "revolting" in others, and delves into why she chooses to live in a house where nobody can be distracted by their reflection.

"The BBC wanted me to give it a go," she says of her chat show. In conversation with Harper's Bazaar, she explains that while mulling over the thought of her own series, she thought, "Maybe, let’s try something different?"

However, she disliked being the sole presenter, and apparently, everything about the series. "I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t like having my name on it, it’s not what I’m good at," she says.

Claudia continues, "I need a format – it can’t just be me." The BBC tried to persuade her to change her mind, but her response was firm: "I was like, no. Once was enough. Never again. That’s it. It wasn’t for me," she reveals.

The presenter still manages to find joy in what she considers to be the "failure" of walking away from the project, but is actually a woman saying no to something she doesn't like and refusing to stand down.

"It’s brilliant to give something a go, and it’s brilliant to fail," she says, adding that this is something she also instils in her children.

"It’s only work. It doesn’t matter," she says, and explaining where her real priorities lay, continues, "You’ve got to be able to brush it off and say, this isn’t the thing; the thing is family and friends and scrambled eggs." Well said.

Although she put friends, family and food at the top of the list of things bringing her happiness, Claudia does of course have career highlights. The one thing she considers the "greatest honour" of her life's work, is getting to be present at The Traitors' Round Table meetings.

Listening to the contestants debate "is the greatest honour of my working life," she says, explaining, "There was this moment in series one when traitor turned on traitor, and I remember I was shaking and shallow breathing. It blew my mind."

Interestingly, hosting the series has taught the presenter some valuable lessons. Delving into these, she shares, "What I’ve learnt from Traitors is that gut feeling doesn’t exist, and I don't think you can spot a liar," she says.

Claudia continues, "The other lesson is that even if you know something for a fact, if you don’t have people behind you and believing in you, it doesn’t matter. The Round Table is all about the power of persuasion."

Just as famous for her signature look (that she doesn't actually give too much thought to,) Claudia reveals that not only does she refuse to have mirrors in her own home, she also grew up in a house without any.

"I have no idea what I look like – there’s probably sleep in my eyes," she says, explaining that she only cares about the people and things around her, not her own reflection.

"For me, you don’t take photographs of yourself, you take photographs of other people because you love them or it’s a memory," she shares, adding that she always tries to "defy modern technology" and you won't find her constantly taking selfies.

And Claudia's key to living a happy life? "Not taking yourself seriously is the key," she says, concluding with her own personal brand of honesty, "People who take themselves seriously are revolting."