Dan Walker reveals heartwarming role his kids had in joining Strictly

Dan Walker has revealed his three children played a heartwarming role in his decision to join the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Chatting to HELLO! and other press at the annual Strictly Q&A's this month, the BBC presenter admitted he signed up after being asked by his children.

MORE: Dan Walker shares sneak peek inside first Strictly rehearsal - and it's hilarious

"[My kids are] 14, 12 and 10, and they sat me down at Christmas and said 'Dad if you ever get asked again we'd really love you to do it.'" he began.

WATCH: Dan Walker teases who his Strictly partner will be

"I've got two daughters who are 14 and 12 and very much into dancing and Strictly and all that sort of stuff, too."

Dan continued: "I've done a lot of telly that I wanted to do for a long time and anyone who's got kids that age will know it's rare to do something that your kids are fully invested in. So they're really excited and that was a big part of it really.

"And they've only ever asked me to do two shows, Saturday Mash Up and this, and I did Saturday Mash Up in the summer, and here we are!"

The 44-year-old also revealed the pandemic was one of the reasons for joining this year's cast, admitting his time reporting on "grim stories" inspired him to do something different.

MORE: Dan Walker bids an emotional farewell to BBC Breakfast co-host Louise Minchin

MORE: Dan Walker sparks fan reaction with photos from family outing

© Photo: Instagram

Dan is gearing up for the new series

"I cover a lot of news and the last 18 months has been grim story after grim story after grim story, and I thought it's a nice opportunity to do something fun that's very different and doesn't involve reading headlines about awful stuff and just to have a bit of a giggle and learn a new skill."

Dan is clearly looking forward to taking to the ballroom and has given his fans sneak peeks at what's to come. Earlier this week, the broadcaster shared a glimpse of inside his first practice session on his Instagram.

The image shows Dan lying face down on the wooden floor with his arms and legs splayed out. "First #Strictly training session after getting up at 3am this morning! Shattered but ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!" he wrote. Roll on Saturday! 

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