In his Strictly leaving speech back in 2021 Dan Walker gushed over his beautiful Ukrainian dancer partner Nadiya Bychkova.
After weeks of training with her, the former BBC Breakfast presenter paid an emotional tribute to her, hailing her as ‘amazing’ before bizarrely asking her if he could have her hand in friendship after they were knocked out in the quarter-final stage of the competition.
‘I’m not a dancer, but she showed me that I can dance,’ he said of Nadiya. ‘And that for me, this has been an absolutely incredible experience.
‘There are some people that 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, I’ll be your friend for life Nadiya Bychkova, OK?’
And while it may seem de rigueur for celebrities to fall out with their Strictly partners, recently, for Dan, 47, it appears that Nadiya agreed to be his pal.
Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova regularly spend time in each other’s company and share snaps of their outings on Instagram
It’s been reported that Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova’s ‘friendship’ is the talk of Strictly as stars of the show are ‘obsessed’ with how they are still so close four years after they were knocked out in the quarter-final of the competition in 2021
Because, in recent months, the two have been spotted together numerous times as Dan provides her with a shoulder to cry on following her split from her boyfriend, fellow professional dancer Kai Widdrington, in July last year
Now it’s been reported that Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova’s ‘friendship’ is the talk of Strictly as stars of the show are ‘obsessed’ with how they are still so close.
They regularly spend time in each other’s company and share snaps of their outings on Instagram, which is in stark contrast to his relationship with Sarah, his wife of 23 years, who he keeps ultra private.
He met the mother of his three children at the University of Sheffield and says she prefers to stay out of the limelight, revealing in 2021: ‘She doesn’t want to be on social media. Simple as that. She’s much wiser than me.’
Now Nadiya appears to be ensuring that he doesn’t get lonely now he spends a lot of the week in London where he hosts Channel 5 News and a show on Classic FM.
Dan has nicknamed Nadiya the ‘Yorkshire barmaid’ after she pretended to serve him a pint and attempt the county’s accent during a Strictly training session.
‘Dan adores Nadiya,’ says a source who knows both of them. ‘He loved his Strictly journey and will always be grateful for Nadiya providing him with that experience.
‘He wanted to stay friends and it is lovely that they have, especially when you look at the likes of Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice, or Graziano Di Prima and Zara McDermott.
They are a real Strictly success story. Nadiya became single and Dan is a kind man with strong Christian values, even if at times it’s a little bit cringe.’
It appears that Nadiya, who lives with her daughter in a basement flat in Earls Court, west London, has been Dan’s ‘plus one’ at many celebrity events – as well as her birthday bash at the Ritz. Those who know Dan suggest that he is keen to get out rather than be lonely while working away from his beloved wife Sarah who resides at the family home in Sheffield.
For instance, they both attended the The Melissa Bell fundraising event on November 27 at the five star Rosewood Hotel in London. While they did have their picture together – with another person in them – they were also seen giggling together and were the last to leave the bash.
On onlooker told me: ‘Nadiya and Dan were the last two people in the room. Everyone had left but they were sat in the corner.
They were then the last to leave together before going home separately.
Then, they celebrated Nadiya’s 35th birthday belatedly at The Ritz hotel on December 2 where they indulged in caviar tasting. They snapped a picture of themselves in the kitchen. There were others there but Dan ensured he posted a photo of the two of them on social media.
Just days later they were back out at the same event – the Mufasa: The Lion King premiere in London’s Leicester Square.
On October 9 last year Walker was a guest at Nadiya’s Legends Dance Floor tour at London’s Adelphi theatre. Posting on Instagram, he wrote: ‘Thanks @NadiyaBychkova for the invite, to which she replies: “I am glad you enjoyed the show “two lobster emojis” they were brilliant.’
Apparently, Dan has been helping Nadiya to land lucrative brand deals in a bid to increase her Strictly income
Then on November 17, Dan made the 230 mile round trip to Blackpool with his eldest daughter to see Nadiya perform for Strictly, despite being voted off with her partner Tom Dean six weeks before.
Dan posted a total of four pictures of himself with Nadiya, and just two of his daughter (although he hid her face with a huge glitterball). He wrote alongside them: ‘What a fun night back at Strictly in Blackpool with my eldest daughter. Lovely to catch up with Nadiya Bychkova for the first time in a while although I still haven’t figured how to do the finger photo.’
He went on to share more details about his visit to the set, adding: ‘You will be pleased to hear that we grabbed some food and we did get chips with that Yorkshire Barmaid.’
Then there has been a visit to Dan’s Channel 5 show last December where he gave her a platform to promote her Strictly Christmas special dance partner Billy Monger. Dan later posted the interview onto his Instagram wall.
And Dan was just as supportive on Wednesday when he posted a picture of her appearing on Loose Women where she was talking about her forthcoming show where she will divulge the secrets of Strictly.
‘Look who popped up in the gym yesterday, nice surprise to see @nadiyabychkova on Loose Women.’ Before urging his followers to buy tickets for the event.
Meanwhile, I can also reveal Dan has been helping Nadiya to land lucrative brand deals in a bid to increase her Strictly income.
‘Dan has certainly jumped to become Nadiya’s night in shining armour,’ says an associate of the star.
‘And how wonderful that it began on Strictly, it’s the total opposite of the Strictly curse.’
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