Krishnan Guru-Murthy lit up the Strictly ballroom during Saturday’s night show as he and pro dancer Lauren Oakley took to the dance floor – while Krishnan's rarely-seen son, Jay, watched on.
The Channel 4 news presenter and his Strictly Come Dancing partner had the studio audience enraptured as they danced an incredible quickstep to the classic Frank Sinatra song, The Lady Is A Tramp, as you can see below.
Following the elegant performance, the studio audience took to their feet to applaud the pair, including Krishnan’s son, Jay, 16. Krishnan was clearly enjoying the routine, with a smile plastered on his face throughout the dance.
The judges scored Krishnan and Lauren an impressive score of 30, taking him to the top of the leader board and equally his highest ever score.
As Krishnan ran up the Strictly stairs to chat to Claudia, the 53-year-old was greeted by the presenter wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the words, “Hello Jay!” She joked: “Jay is Krishan’s son and he said he’d never come, but here he is!”
The camera panned to Krishnan’s son, who was left cringing in embarrassment at the shout out.
Krishnan has previously spoken about his children's reaction to him joining the BBC dance competition. "I have an 18-year-old daughter who thought it was a brilliant idea, and I have a 16-year-old son, who … I'm really, really sorry, I just have to apologise to him … but yeah, he's appalled," he said on Claudia Winkleman's BBC Radio 2 show last month.
Despite a few notes of criticism from the judges, Strictly’s fans came out in force to applaud Krishnan and Lauren’s Week Five performance. “I love Krishnan and how much he’s enjoying this – and flourishing”, one Strictly fan wrote on X. “Krishnan is an absolute joy!” exclaimed another. “Krishnan performing with so much joy is what the spirit of Strictly Come Dancing is all about” another added.
