Dan Walker has opened up on how he balances performing on Strictly Come Dancing as well as his usual commitments to BBC Breakfast.
The broadcaster, 44, revealed that he has to ‘cram’ for his performances on the show like it was ‘exam conditions’ due to his time for rehearsals being limited.
Dan performed a paso doble to Rag’n’Bone Man and Calvin Harris’s Giant on Saturday’s show, and had to perfect the routine in just 17 hours with professional partner Nadiya Bychkova.
He told PA: ‘I think we’ve found a good rhythm, we’ve worked it out, I think we’ve done about 17 hours this week.
‘We’re both treating it like exam conditions but we have a good laugh and we stop, obviously to eat and drink.’
Nadiya added: ‘We don’t stop when we’re rehearsing those 17-18 hours, it’s full-on. When we rehearse it’s proper rehearsal, and it’s 100 percent.
‘And I don’t know how he’s doing it, but he gives me his 100 percent every time we’re rehearsing and to be honest, that’s what you need.
‘I’d rather have this, less time but he’s 100 percent focused and dedicated to it instead of just knowing we have the whole week for 12 hours a day, and then sometimes you can get lost in that time.
‘But it is full-on to learn a new dance in less than 20 hours, it’s incredible, but he’s amazing.’
Dan has impressed the judges and his TV nemesis alike with his dancing skills, with Piers Morgan tweeting after his first performance: ‘Very disappointing by Mr Dan Walker… I was hoping you would be a lot worse than that!’
Dan revealed that he usually gets four hours of sleep when he has to be up for BBC Breakfast, but claims he has only fallen asleep in a rehearsal once so far.
He added that he uses visualisation techniques to help him learn the dances and is loving being paired with Nadiya.
‘We’re getting on really well,’ Dan says. ‘My family absolutely love her, she comes round for dinner, we’re all getting on really well. I want my kids and my wife to be part of all that as well.’
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One on Saturday at 6.45pm.
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