BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker has opened up about the reasons behind declining a place on the Strictly Come Dancing tour 2022.
The presenter has instead been replaced by 2020 contestant Max George of The Wanted fame, along with the other most successful pairings from the 2021 show.
Rose Ayling-Ellis, AJ Odudu, Rhys Stephenson, John Whaite, Sara Davies, Tilly Ramsay and Max George complete the line-up alongside their professional partners.
However, it looks like Dan and his pro partner Nadiya Bychkova won’t be taking to the dance floor again, as Dan explained he “wants to be at home”.
Taking to Instagram, Dan posted a picture of a newspaper article to clarify that it isn’t the “intense backlash” he’s received from being on the show that put him off.
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
And, seeking to let his own truth be told, Dan explained: “Just to triple clarify… my decision not to do the #Strictly tour this year has nothing to do with the tiny minority of people who were miffed we were still in it.
“I’m currently responding to some of the 8000+ kind, uplifting DMs / emails from lovely humans since Sunday.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out. I’ll post some of them once I’ve been through them all. They are really touching.
“I can’t wait to take my family to watch the #Strictly tour this year but I sadly won’t be part of it.
(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
“I have too many work commitments and I want to be at home after spending so much longer on the actual show than I ever expected.
“I’m sure it’ll be amazing – as usual.”
Dan’s fellow Strictly stars immediately hopped into the comments section to show him some love, with both judge Shirley Ballas and pro dancer Nancy Xu posting rows of heart emojis.
Another fan wrote: “Everyone’s an expert on everything when sitting in front of their TV but it takes a lot of bottle to dance in front of the nation on a Saturday evening.”
(Image: PA)
Someone else posted: “Dan you don’t need to answer for your actions. Anyone that knows anything about you would know you want to spend time with your family.
“You’re super busy. Loved following Nadiya and you on your Strictly journey. You are what the programme is about.”
It comes after Dan hit out at trolls who criticised him for making it to the quarter finals despite consistently low scores, writing: “To the angry mob who shouted, insulted and moaned each week… please think about your words.
“I can thankfully cope with it but others can’t and some of it is cruel, unkind and unnecessary. I love watching Strictly for the brilliant dancers but also for the improvers, the no-hopers and the ones who surprise themselves and everyone else.
“If watching two people having the best time each weekend makes you angry and sweary then it says a lot more about you than it does the people who are thankful and shocked to go through.
“Also, in a strange way, thank you spurring me on to work harder and rise above the bile.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
