Krishnan Guru-Murthy will be joining Strictly Come Dancing 2023
Krishnan Guru-Murthy revealed he was urged to choose between a primetime entertainment show or Newsnight.
The Channel 4 News presenter said he was called into a meeting with a BBC executive in the early days of his career and was issued an ultimatum by a corporation bigwig.
Speaking in a new interview, the Strictly Come Dancing contestant, 53, said he was asked whether he wanted to be Bruce Forsyth or Jeremy Paxman.
Back in 1994, Krishnan flirted with the glitz and glamour of Saturday night television while working as reporter and producer on BBC’s Newsnight.
“In fact a long time ago, I did some showbiz,” he recalled. “I presented the show that was then in the Strictly slot: The National Lottery Live with Anthea Turner.
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“I’d spend half my week on Newsnight as producer/reporter, and the other half on this primetime, big-budget entertainment show with massive audiences.”
Krishnan continued: “The man who ran news said to me: ‘do you want to be Bruce Forsyth or Jeremy Paxman?’ I had to make a decision.”
The broadcaster decided to pursue news as he believed wouldn’t be the best at entertainment.
He added to the Guardian: “I thought I could be the best when it came to news and current affairs, but I knew I could never be the best at entertainment. I could never get Bruce’s gig, but Jeremy’s felt feasible. So I left that all behind me.”
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The Channel 4 news reader, who suffers from a genetic heart condition – hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – which has killed two of his cousins has suggested medics on Strictly will need to keep a defibrillator on standby ahead of his debut.
Krishnan has to ensure that his heartbeat does not rise to dangerous levels.
“I’ve just got to be sensible and listen to my body. For somebody like me, I’ve got that condition that Elvis had and footballers have when they can suddenly drop… you know that one,” he told the Mirror.
“The task for me is more about training and not raising my heart level for long periods of time than dancing a two minute dance.”
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 returns to BBC One on Saturday at 6.35pm.
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