Things are really heating up on Strictly Come Dancing, with Halloween Week out of the way and a whole new set of dances to be learned ahead of Saturday’s show.
As we approach Week Seven of the competition, the Strictly 2021 contestants are now well-versed in balancing work, life and learning those steps – but juggling so many things at once certainly comes with challenges.
In an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com, BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker revealed Week Four was especially challenging for him, leaving him “the tiredest” he had ever been. So tired, in fact, he fell asleep on the phone.
“[Week Four] was the tiredest I’ve ever been in my life, because I was [interviewing] the Prime Minister as well,” he explained. “So you know, brain space, which you have to divert to that – I had loads of meetings about that, and you know, lots of stuff to read and go through.”
The host, who sat in eighth place in last weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard, also revealed he doesn’t “sleep much”.
“I think I added it up. [That] week, over the whole week, I had less than 24 hours’ sleep, which is not ideal when you’re trying to learn a brand new dance,” he explained, before adding: “I fell asleep on an actual phone call. I’ve never complained about being tired. I signed up for this! But I’m loving it.”
Dan and partner Nadiya Bychkova danced a Cha Cha Cha to U Can’t Touch This/Superfreak by MC Hammer/Rick James that week, and Dan only scored a total of 26 points.
Luckily, things picked up the week after. “I’ve had my normal sleep which is about five hours a night, so I’m far more alert,” Dan told us. “I didn’t fall asleep once.”
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One on Saturdays and Sundays. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.