Helen Elizabeth Daly: Last News

Tess Daly, best known as one half of the presenting duo on Strictly Come Dancing, has been in the public eye since the age of 17. The television presenter, 54, married to Vernon Kay, began her career as a model after she was discovered outside a McDonald's restaurant in Manchester while waiting for her sister.

Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly has one of the most recognisable names in UK showbiz, but it's not her real one. It turns out, the original Strictly staple and 52 year old mum of two has been using a different name for decades. And what's more, not even her husband and fellow TV presenter Vernon Kay, 47, calls her by her real name.

Strictly Come Dancing star Tess Daly was actually born with a totally different name.The host has presented the BBC dance competition since 2004 - and has always used the name Tess in a professional capacity.However, she was christened something completely different, and hasn’t officially changed it out of respect for her parents - though her mum Sylvia is the only person still using her previous name.Even her showbiz hubby Vernon Kay calls her Tess.But the star was actually christened Helen Elizabeth Daly - but when she started work as a model aged 17, there was already someone with the name ‘Helen Davies’ on the books.So Tess was told to change her name because it was too similar.She explained to Weekend: “My mum’s really the only person who still calls me Helen, and that’s not often.“She tends to call me ‘love’, so when she does say ‘Helen’ it can take me a while to respond.”The name Tess actually came about because the star’s agent at the time was “obsessed” with actress Nastassja Kinski - who starred in the film Tess - as they thought Tess Daly looked like her.She explained: “So Tess it was. I was gullible and impressionable.

Strictly Come Dancing star Tess Daly is one of the UK's most famous names – even though "Tess" isn't actually her real name.

Tess Daly has been in the spotlight since she was just 17 years old.