Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman has said she wishes the Halloween horror when her daughter’s fancy dress costume went up in flames had happened to her instead.

The TV presenter has spoken to the BBC’s Watchdog programme about the incident in west London last year, which left eight-year-old Matilda in hospital.

She told Chris Hollins: "I was talking to somebody...and then I heard her shout and she was on fire.

“It feels like she was on fire for hours, but the surgeon said that it definitely wasn't the case and it was probably just seconds.

“She went up, is the only way I know how to describe it...it was a spark and she screamed out for me.

"It was like those horrific birthday candles that you blow out and then they come back...it was really fast, it was fast, it wasn't fire like I'd seen."

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Winkleman, who missed several weeks of Strictly to be with her daughter, said the incident was "life changing, but not life defining".

She said: "It was definitely life changing for me. I can't remember life before it.

“I wish I had been dressed as the witch is mainly all I wish, that it had happened to me.

“She went up, and I don't want that to happen to another child.

"I would like parents to - just on Halloween, just to think about what they're going to put their kids in because I didn't, and it cost us".

Matilda suffered serious burns when her supermarket-bought costume brushed against a candle at a neighbour’s house.

Jorge Leon-Vallapalos, the paediatric plastic surgeon who treated Matilda at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, has described there being a "mini epidemic" of paediatric burn injuries "in certain periods of the year".

Last  year there were 82 fire-related injuries in London between Halloween and Bonfire Night – a 37 per cent increase on 2012.

Candles in particular are one of the biggest causes of fires in the home, with London Fire Brigade attending around 20 such incidents a month.

The brigade's group manager for community safety Mark Hazelton said: "This was a terrible ordeal for not only Claudia’s daughter  but her family and friends as well. Unfortunately though, accidents like this are not uncommon and this is a shocking reminder that candles and open flames can be lethal if you don’t keep an eye them.

“This is especially true if you are wearing clothing, such as fancy costumes, which often have tassels, capes and other adornments that can trail and easily catch light if they accidentally brush against a flame. That’s why  it’s crucial that candles are placed well away from flammable items and clothing otherwise the results can be catastrophic.

“It is not only children in fancy dress who we are concerned about, we also see a number of incidents where vulnerable adults accidentally set their clothing or bedding alight because they are placed too close to candles, cookers or gas heaters.”

See the full interview on Watchdog at 8pm on BBC One.