Inside Dan Walker's life – Evangelical childhood and Nadiya rumours to BBC Breakfast job

Dan Walker is a familiar face in the mornings, as one of the hosts of BBC Breakfast.

The 44-year-old has been broadcasting for quite some time, first securing a regular gig in 1999 on Manchester’s Key 103 radio station.

Since then he has barely looked back, doing everything from sports reporting to a glittering run in the long-running dance show Strictly Come Dancing.

During his time on the well-loved competition, Walker was partnered with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova – who at the time was going through a well-publicised break-up with her ex-fiance Matija Škarabot, sparking rumours that she and Dan may actually have had chemistry off the dance floor as well as on it.

Speculation arose as to whether Dan was going to become the latest victim of the ‘Strictly Curse’, which has been responsible for the demise of many relationships going into the show.

But the rumours were unfounded. After their elimination, Dan said: “There are some people who walk into your life and turn some lights on, and that’s what she has done to me.

“You’re an amazing person, and if you’ll have me, you’ll have a friend for life Nadiya Bychkova.”

Dan Walker’s career

Walker made his name as a broadcast journalist after moving into TV after his stint in radio. He worked in Manchester until 2006, when he moved to London and began covering major events like Wimbledon, the Six Nations and Ascot.

In 2009 he became the presenter of Football Focus and in 2010 was part of the BBC team to cover the South Africa World Cup.

Taking over BBC Radio 5 Live until 2016, Walker moved over to his current role on BBC Breakfast.

In 2020, the BBC published the salaries of its top stars. Walker was among them where it was revealed he earned between £260,000 and £264,000 that year. However, this was a decrease on the previous year when he’d earned between £280,000 and £284,999.

Dan Walker religion

Walker famously doesn’t work on Sundays and this is due to his religious beliefs.

BirminghamLive reports Dan insisted on this from an early point in his career and is something he has carried through ever since.

Dan has discussed his religion on the Premier Christian Radio podcast The Profile. He said: “I never mind what people write or say about me.

“That’s because, as a Christian, I don’t take my value from what people think about me.

“I know I can’t control all those things, hurtful or hateful, whatever they might be, that people say about me or my family, or about my faith.

“And I’m thankful that I’ve developed the skin of a rhino.”

He “struggled to find the answers” after his good friend, footballer and manager Gary Speed, took his own life in 2011 after spending the day with Dan.

“In my mind I’ve gone through those conversations that day, and asked myself ‘Did I do enough? As a Christian, could I have done more? Could I have said something or done something that could have led to him still being here today?'” Dan told Premier Christian.

“Many people who have read the book have thankfully come back to me and said: ‘Those are the emotions that we all go through,’ those who have lost somebody in that way. The guilt, the anger, the frustration, the questions… and some of them never go away.”

Dan Walker family

Dan has been married to his wife Sarah Walker since 2001, after the pair met at university in Sheffield, and the pair share two daughters Susanna and Jessica and son Chuck.

Dan has made some adorable admissions about their relationship in the past.

In 2020, the star said on Instagram: “One of the secrets to nearly 20 years of marriage… Golf shoes for #Valentines Day.”

Meanwhile in 2018 he wrote: “Yesterday… Mid-conversation… My wife plucked a hair from my ear with her bare fingers. That my friends… Is what Valentine’s Day is all about.”

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk