Dan Walker is swapping the BBC sofa for Channel 5, after six years as a BBC Breakfast presenter.
Revealing the news on Monday, Dan, 45, said ‘it’s been a massive decision’ for him to leave the BBC for his new role at Channel 5.
The move will also see him present a slate of new shows with the broadcaster, including a range of non-news programming for Channel 5.
Since stepping into Bill Turnbull’s shoes in 2016, Dan co-presented Breakfast with Louise Minchin until last year, and with Sally Nugent from then onwards. When Louise stepped down after 20 years on our screens, Dan led the tributes to his work wife and welcomed Sally on the sofa.
The anchor presented the morning news from Mondays to Wednesdays through Brexit, the Covid pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine and even during his own stint on Strictly Come Dancing, where he was paired with Nadiya Bychkova and lasted on the ballroom dance floor until their elimination in week 11.
He had been a fan-favourite on the show, making it all the way through until a tense quarter-final dance-off, at which point judges chose to keep AJ Odudu and her partner Kai Widdrington.
After being eliminated, Dan reflected upon his time on the show, saying: ‘The last 11 weeks have been absolutely amazing, I’ve genuinely loved every second of it.
‘When I go back to the first day when I was asked to dance in front of some glitter balls, at that point, if there had been a fire exit, I’d have just walked away. But this amazing woman grabbed me by the hand, and brought me out onto this dance floor.
‘I’m not a dancer, but she showed me that I can dance, and that for me, this has been an absolutely incredible experience. Thank you to the judges, your feedback every week has been brilliant, and really constructive and helpful, and everyone over there, my fellow competitors, have been brilliant.
‘The four people left are so good, as you say, the standard has been amazing, it’s been a pleasure for me to watch them dance each week, and thank you to all the pros for being so kind, caring and encouraging.
‘Plus everyone who works on this programme, it’s a pleasure to be a part of a show that means so much to so many people.’
While most viewers will recognise him from Strictly or on TV as part of their morning routines, Dan’s first step into the BBC world was as a presenter for Football Focus, having taken over from Manish Bhasin in 2009.
After 12 years on the show, Dan quit in April 2021, teasing that there would be ‘one or two exciting opportunities’ coming his way.
Announcing he was stepping back, he said at the time: ‘This is going to be my last season presenting Football Focus. It’s been a real pleasure and an amazing 12 years, and I can honestly say I’ve loved every single second of it.
‘I’m really proud about the job that we’ve done, the changes we’ve made to the show, the issues we’ve looked at, and at a time when the football landscape immeasurably.
‘But, having said all that, after 12 years it’s time for someone else to take the reins.’