Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who is best known as the lead anchor of Channel 4 News, has revealed what led him to finally sign up to compete on the popular dance reality show Strictly Come Dancing.
Produced by BBC Studios, the popular show will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this month.
“They have been asking for quite a few years. I didn’t pay much attention or give it much thought. We met for a coffee in June, and I – as I had before – said that I wasn’t interested,” Krishnan told a publication. “In the past, I have either been feeling really obese, not very well, or worried about my health. But this year I was caught at a good moment: I’m feeling a little healthier, and have lost a bit of weight, entirely coincidently.”
He continued, “I couldn’t even fob them off by saying I’d do it next year – it would be impossible for me to do it during general election. I rang my wife and told her I was thinking of saying yes. She thought it was a good idea – which had never happened.”
Krishnan, 53, suffers from a genetic heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. However, he insisted that he felt the need to take part in the intense ballroom competition before he becomes “too decrepit” to compete in the future.
“I even asked my cardiologist if I might drop dead live on BBC One,” he told another publication. “No, was his answer. But he couldn’t give me an absolute guarantee. I have to be careful of raising my heartbeat into the red zone; that final 15%. I shouldn’t go there. It’s where people with my condition drop dead.”
