Dan Walker: is presenter still in Strictly, who is wife Sarah, and what did he say about dance partner Nadiya?

BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker admitted he has always been “tall and awkward,” in a recent interview about his time on Strictly Come Dancing.

Walker, 44, reached the quarter finals of the 2021 series with his professional dance partner, Nadiya Bychkova.

His time on the primetime BBC One show was not always plain sailing, as he received criticism for making it to week 11 as some felt he should have been voted off in earlier weeks.

So, is he still in Strictly, and what has he said about Nadiya? This is what you need to know.

Is Dan Walker still on Strictly Come Dancing?

No, the 44-year-old was voted off the show during week 11 (5 December), after failing to impress the judges with his tango performance.

Walker faced the bottom two with TV presenter AJ Odudu, but failed to secure a place in the semi finals.

His time on the BBC One show caused quite a stir among viewers, as some felt he was not of a standard to make it to the quarter finals.

He addressed his critics on Twitter, in the week leading up to what would be his final week on the show.

“Thank you to everyone who is sending lovely messages & enjoying us having fun on #Strictly and to the few who say… “Just leave” “Aren’t you ashamed?” “You’re a disgrace” “It’s a fix” (which I don’t get) or “Who is voting for them?” IT’S A TV SHOW!” he wrote on Twitter. “See you in the 1/4 finals,” he wrote.

Following the results show on Sunday 5 December, he took to Twitter a second time, thanking those who “spurred him on.”

“Thank you for all your gorgeous kind comments and thanks to the angry lot for spurring me on to work harder, @nadiyabychkova is an amazing dancer, teacher and friend.” he wrote.

What did he say about dance partner Nadiya Bychkova?

Walker has been full of compliments for his professional dance partner, Nadiya Bychkova.

Following the judges decision to send him home, he told the audience: “The last 11 weeks have been absolutely amazing,” he said. “I’ve genuinely loved every second of it. When I go back to the first day when I was asked to dance in front of some glitter balls, at that point, if there had been a fire exit, I’d have just walked away. But this amazing woman grabbed me by the hand, and brought me out onto this dance floor.”

He then praised his dance partner for “an incredible experience,” adding: “I’m not a dancer, but she showed me that I can dance, and that for me, this has been an absolutely incredible experience.

“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.”

Following their final show as partners, the pair also posted pictures and a video of themselves, in which he told her: “thank you for being amazing, thank you for teaching me so much, thank you for being so patient, thank you for teaching a complete numpty like me, a complete novice, to do what we have done on that dancefloor.”

Watch the full video below:

Who is Dan Walker’s wife?

Walker has been married to his university sweetheart, Sarah, for 20 years.

In a recent interview with the Mirror, he explained how he could never dance and so didn’t dance on his wedding day.

“I didn’t dance at my own wedding. I did distraction tactics, messing around on the side. I loved the idea of dancing but it felt beyond me. I’m 6ft 6in, I’ve always been tall and awkward,” he said.

“The easiest way to avoid dancing was to be the joker on the sidelines.”

The pair married in 2001 and celebrated two decades of marriage earlier this year, but Dan has now vowed to give his wife the dance he denied her of when they celebrate their 25-year-anniversary.

Sarah and Dan met in 1999 while studying together at the University of Sheffield, where he also began his journalism career.

They now share three children - Susanna, Chuck and Jessica - and moved back to the South Yorkshire city in 2017.

Following his performance of the Viennese Waltz on Strictly, he paid tribute to his wife, who had been sat in the audience.

He danced to Billy Joel’s She’s Always a Woman - one of Sarah’s favourite songs.

Afterwards, he told viewers and the audience: “Sarah thankfully is here tonight, you saw her come to training this week. I’m going to gush over her for the moment," he said.

“She is one of those people, the more you know her, the more you love her and I’ve known her and loved her for over half my life.”

He added: “She’s absolutely amazing, she’s a special person and I love her to bits and I hope she enjoyed that.”