Strictly Come Dancing star Dan Walker on what it was like being back at his old school and where he took dance partner Nadiya Bychova on her first visit to Crawley
and live on Freeview channel 276
The BBC presenter grew up in Crawley and went to Three Bridges Primary School on his return and was filmed in the assembly hall with the children - who got a chance to show off their dance skills to Dan and Nadiya.
And they were impressed. Nadiya said: "At that age when I was 10 or 11, I was a dancer myself, but I don't think I would have that kind of confidence to improvise on the stage and in front of everyone. It was so impressive and I loved it. It was so nice to see them."
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAnd visiting the hall brought back great memories for Dan, who now lives in Sheffield. He said: "The hall’s changed a bit but that is the actual hall that I used to have my assemblies in. And I said to Nadiya ‘that’s where the DJ used to be for school discos’. And that’s where I sat being a goon in the corner over there.
"Seeing the smiles on the kids faces was great. It’s quite special to have a slice of that."
This weekend's Strictly Come Dancing theme is School Disco and Nadiya did not know what a school disco was before training for these week's Cha Cha Cha.
Dan said: "It shows the difference between me and Nadiya. I said to her ‘have you ever been to a school disco?’. And she said ‘not really, I don’t know what one is’.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"So this is her first school disco this weekend. So I asked 'what were you doing when you were 11 or 12’ her reply was ‘I was competing in the world championships'.
"So a slightly different childhood and here we are together!"
It was Nadiya's first visit to Crawley and Dan took her in the town first thing.
Nadiya said: "I am enjoying it. The first thing in the morning I need coffee so he took me to Queen's Square where I got my Starbucks. It’s a great experience to watch him come back to his old school. I don't think I will ever experience going back to my school. To see him after not visiting for so long."
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.