Dan Walker has set the record straight following the news that he will not be participating in the Strictly Come Dancing live arena tour next year.
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The line-up for the mammoth 33-date tour was released on Tuesday and includes the likes of semifinalists Rose Ayling-Ellis, John Waithe, Rhys Stephenson and AJ Odudu as well as Tilly Ramsay, Sara Davies and more. However, the 44-year-old TV presenter, who became the tenth contestant to be eliminated from the show on Sunday, was not listed among those taking part.
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Responding to false reports that he has not made the cut due to "intense backlash" from audiences in recent weeks, he wrote on Instagram on Wednesday: "Just to triple clarify… my decision not to do the #Strictly tour this year has nothing to do with the tiny minority of people who were miffed we were still in it."
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He continued: "I'm currently responding to some of the 8000+ kind, uplifting DMs / emails from lovely humans since Sunday Thank you to everyone who has reached out. I'll post some of them once I've been through them all. They are really touching.
© Photo: BBCDan and Nadiya became the tenth couple to be eliminated from the show on Sunday
"I can't wait to take my family to watch the #Strictly tour this year but I sadly won't be part of it."
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As for why he won't be going on tour, he explained: "I have too many work commitments and I want to be at home after spending so much longer on the actual show than I ever expected. I'm sure it'll be amazing - as usual."
Dan and his partner Nadiya Bychkova became the latest duo to be eliminated from the BBC dance show at the weekend after failing to impress the judges. They were up against AJ Odudu and her partner Kai Widdrington in the dreaded dance-off, and were sadly sent home.
