Channel 5 newsreader Dan Walker has shared his thoughts on this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing, whilst also discussing his own memories of being on the show. The 45-year-old came fifth on the BBC series in 2021 with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova.
Discussing his time on Strictly during an interview on This Morning, host Holly Willoughby asked Dan whether dance partner Nadiya had "changed his life" and he replied: "I think we’re both hard workers and as soon as we met each other, we got it. I wrote about it in my new book, she went from being a five-year-old in Ukraine to 20 years later, becoming a world champion and all of a sudden, the best dancer on the planet is teaching me to dance."
The presenter then recalled how Nadiya opened him up to the possibility of dancing - something he'd "previously closed his mind off to". During his time on Strictly, viewers watched Dan become more confident as the weeks went on and he was generally considered a fan favourite. "I don’t want to get too deep and meaningful but it was like learning a new language and Nadiya taught me that," he added.
Read more: Strictly's Richie Anderson breaks down in tears as he chats to Rylan Clark after show exit
Nadiya is currently partnered with singer Matt Goss in this year's series. So far, the pair have already been in the bottom two and scored low scores from the judges. "I hope her and Matt Goss stay in as long as possible because she is such a good teacher and she can really show him all sorts of things," Dan commented.
Despite saying how much he enjoyed his time on Strictly, Dan told Phillip and Holly that he doesn't get 'FOMO' (Fear of Missing Out) when watching this year's celebrities. He said he had "reached the top of the mountain and enjoyed the view" but didn’t particularly have any desire to return.
Earlier this year, Dan announced that he'd be stepping down from his role on BBC Breakfast in order to work for Channel 5 on 5News. The presenter and journalist has quickly become very popular with audiences and helped to boost viewing numbers.
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