Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy has been confirmed as the fourth celebrity contestant for Strictly Come Dancing 2023.
The legendary journalist, 53, will be competing against the likes of Amanda Abbington, Layton Williams and Angela Rippon on the BBC show.
Krishnan revealed he had joined Strictly on Claudia Winkleman’s show on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday – and had arrived at the studio in a Traitors-style cloak to avoid detection.
Explaining why he had agreed to take part, he said: ‘You only live once. I’m here for the joy and the fun. I love my job. It’s very, very privileged: I go to amazing places and speak to amazing people, but it’s incredibly serious; it’s quite stressful.
‘So the idea of being able to have pure intravenous joy, alongside – because I’m going to be doing the news at the same time – is just irresistible.’
Krishnan had admitted he had previously sworn off ever signing up for Strictly but said that ‘something had changed this year.’
While his wife, Lisa, and 18-year-old daughter endorsed his new venture, he jokingly confessed his son, 16, is ‘appalled’ – although is performing with his band on the first live show.
‘We’ll bring him round,’ Claudia added.
Krishnan, who said he was inspired by 2020 winner Bill Bailey, follows in the footsteps of other journalists including Natasha Kaplinksy, Susanna Reid and Jeremy Vine.
Jeremy, who appeared in the 2015 edition of Strictly, joined Claudia’s radio show to share his support for Krishnan, advising him to ’embrace his inner child’ and to bond with his dancing partner.
Other rumoured celebs for Strictly include Stuart Broad, Brenda Williams, and Les Dennis.
The long-running ballroom competition was won in 2022 by celeb cameraman-turned-dancer Hamza Yassin and his professional partner Jowita Przystal.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer later this year.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
For more stories like this, check our entertainment page.
Follow Metro.co.uk Entertainment on Twitter and Facebook for the latest celeb and entertainment updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
Source: Read Full Article