Would you Adam and Eve it? Queen of the castle Claudia Winkleman's iconic wardrobe inspired by queen of the Vic Anita Dobson

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.’