Dan Walker has told how his Strictly partner’s love of dancing has rubbed off on him as he expressed his “surprise” that he is still in the competition in the sixth week.
The BBC Breakfast presenter, 44, also revealed in a video posted on Twitter on Saturday morning that his newly-announced co-host Sally Nugent will be in the audience to support him for Halloween week.
Walker and his professional partner Nadiya Bychkova will be performing a jive to Rock Lobster by The B-52s on Saturday evening’s show.
Week 6 of #Strictly tonight… and we’re still in it! 🕺🏼💃🏼
You lot have been incredible. I’ve had so many wonderful conversations with people who love the show.
You can see our jive tonight – and all the other amazing dances – from 710 on BBC1@NadiyaBychkova @sallynugent pic.twitter.com/Lmmd1bFKWP
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) October 30, 2021
In a video posted to Twitter, he said: “Hello, here we are, another Saturday, another week of Strictly.
“I hope you’re having a fantastic weekend so far.
“It’s week six would you believe and we’re still knocking about, which is a huge surprise, but very enjoyable.
“It’s very strange because the judges keep telling me I need to believe in myself and to let go, and I am trying, and if you watch tonight I think you’ll probably see a bit of that.”
The TV presenter also spoke of the influence his dance partner has had on him, saying: “The other thing which I found very surprising is when you spend time with somebody who loves something so much, and Nadiya loves dancing, it’s just a huge part of who she is, it really does rub off on you and I didn’t expect to feel like that.
“I’ve gone from thinking ‘I’m glad that’s over’ to thinking ‘I can’t wait to dance again’.
“And the support we’ve got from so many people is ludicrous and really inspiring.”
He added: “Sally’s coming tonight, my new professional partner, which is going to be great.
“I hope she and you enjoy it, and if you can vote, do, that would be brilliant, thank you.”
Walker said in a follow-up tweet that he knows he is “the favourite to go home” but revealed he was “not worried about that”.
He added: “My family are loving it, my friends can’t believe it and the support is incredible.
“Also… I’m learning something amazing, from someone amazing… I intend to enjoy every minute of it.”
Last week the pair performed a Viennese waltz to She’s Always A Woman by Billy Joel as a tribute to his wife Sarah as it is one of her favourite songs.
Walker, who has three children with his wife, used his post-performance interview to address her directly while she sat in the studio audience.
He said: “I’m going to gush over her for a moment because she’s one of those people that the more you know her, the more you love her, and I’ve known her and loved her for over half my life.”
The camera then panned to Sarah, with Walker adding: “There she is. She’s absolutely amazing. She is such a special person and I love her to bits.
“I hope she enjoyed that because we really loved that.”