Who is Krishnan Guru-Murthy? Meet the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 contestant and newsreader
Krishnan is making progress on the dance floor.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy says he's hoping to "surprise" Strictly Come Dancing viewers this weekend as he prepares to take on the Samba for Week Eight of the competition.
The Channel 4 broadcaster and his pro dance partner Lauren Oakley will perform their Samba to Bamboléo by Gipsy Kings, and speaking to Fleur East on BBC Two's Strictly spin-off, It Takes Two, he revealed: "If I can pull this one off, then I hope I can surprise myself and everybody else. It’s a big hill to climb this week, it’s a serious week because of Blackpool. Everything feels a bit more serious and at stake.”
Everything is at stake this weekend, as the remaining celebrities will be battling it out for their place on the historic dance floor in the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom next Saturday (18th November).
Last weekend, the duo performed the Couple's Choice to You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon, scoring a decent 29 points on the leaderboard, placing them sixth.
During Halloween Week, Krishnan and Lauren performed the Viennese Waltz to Kiss from a Rose by Seal for Halloween Week, scoring 27 points, which also placed them sixth on the leaderboard.
The couple's top score of the competition so far is 30, which they received from the judges in Week 3 for their Charleston and again in Week 5 for their Quickstep to The Lady Is A Tramp by Frank Sinatra.
Can Krishnan beat his top score of 30 this weekend? We'll have to tune in to find out!
Here's everything you need to know about Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
Who is Krishnan Guru-Murthy?
Age: 53
Job: Journalist, newsreader
Instagram: @krishgm
Twitter: @krishgm
Strictly partner: Lauren Oakley
Krishnan Guru-Murthy is one of the UK's most recognisable journalists, ranking as the second longest-serving presenter of Channel 4 News – a programme he joined back in 1998.
He began his career on youth programmes Open to Question and Newsround before a three-year run on Newsnight and a brief stint on BBC News 24, where he was one of the launch presenters.
His career has seen him interview numerous senior politicians and Hollywood stars, while he has also ventured to Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Iraq, South Africa and Yemen in reports for Unreported World.
He showed a lighter side as a guest on Taskmaster's New Year Treat 2021, while he has also played himself in two satirical zombie stories: Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead and Charlie Brooker's Dead Set.
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Krishnan Guru-Murthy's Strictly journey so far
Scoreboard
Week One: Cha Cha (5+6+6+5) = 22
Week Two: Foxtrot (4+5+5+6) = 20
Week Three: Charleston (8+8+7+7) = 30
Week Four: Paso Doble (6+7+7+8) = 28
Week Five: Quickstep (6+8+8+8) = 30
Week Six: Viennese Waltz (6+7+6+8) = 27
Week Seven: Couple's Choice (6+8+8+7) = 29
What has Krishnan Guru-Murthy said about joining Strictly 2023?
Guru-Murthy said: "I'm surprised, delighted and slightly confused to find myself taking part in Strictly on the basis of 'you only live once!' and I can't wait to start learning to dance - but I am slightly worried about my general decrepitude.
"I know I'm going to love it and have a brilliant time, and just hope I'm not the only one enjoying my participation."
The newsreader was a guest on Claudia Winkleman's BBC Radio 2 show on Saturday 5th August, where he announced the news – and shared a photo of the two of them in the studio. See below:
Ahead of his appearance on the dancing competition, the journalist revealed he had previously been approached to star on the show but always turned it down, admitting he was "stupid to do so".
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press, the newsreader said: "I mean, for me, I think we've been through a very difficult time. You know, the pandemic, working from home, the Ukraine war, political chaos; things that felt very, very intense.
"I've said no lots of times because I thought, you know, I'm a serious person and I can't deviate from that.
"We only have one life, and you've got to grasp everything when it's there. I've got a couple of health issues and all the rest of it, and I kind of think, 'Well, if I if I don't do it now, I might not be able to do it in three or four years' time, so do it now.'"
When does Strictly Come Dancing 2023 air?
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 will air every Saturday evening, with the results show airing the follow day on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 11th November at 6:05pm. The results show will air on Sunday 5th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
