She established herself as one of Britain’s most influential dressers while presenting the hit show Traitors.

But Claudia Winkleman’s iconic wardrobe was itself inspired by another TV star – former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson.

Ms Winkleman’s personal stylist of 20 years, Sinead McKeefry, said the soap star’s Eighties power-dressing was a key influence in curating the presenter’s careful mix of high-end, high-street and heritage brands.

Just three episodes into the fourth Traitors series, the value of Ms Winkleman’s outfits worn on screen had already exceeded £16,400. During this year’s first episode, the 54-year-old wore a £279 purple velvet blazer from Jigsaw and a £179 retro-style pink blouse from LK Bennett, reminiscent of an outfit Ms Dobson wore in the early days of the BBC soap.

And during Friday’s dramatic finale, Ms Winkleman hada £199 Holland Cooper Featherton lace shirt beneath her trusty £2,750 Saint Laurent silk-satin blazer in another copy-cat look.

And the inspiration was not limited to Ms Dobson’s time on EastEnders as Ms Winkleman also wore a green tweed blazer similar to one the soap star wore to a charity lunch in 2024. 

Last night, Ms Dobson, 76, said she was ‘absolutely thrilled to even be noticed by [Claudia]’.

She added: ‘She likes clean lines, doesn’t she? Like with her fringe and the cut of her hair. She always looks very chic and slightly French. Claudia loves a smoky eye, and I like [it], too, and I am deeply into vintage.’

Ms Dobson, who was on the show from 1985 until 1988, added that she believes Ms Winkleman’s monochrome looks are among her most stylish, saying: ‘When everything else is dark, you’ve got to have a bit of light.’