Dan Walker's life off screen from rarely-seen wife to marriage 'low point'

01 November 2023 , 19:00

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Dan Walker's life off screen from rarely-seen wife to marriage 'low point'

Dan Walker's captivating series - Vanished: The Search for Britain's Missing - returns tonight with a brand new season. The former BBC Breakfast host investigates those who've gone missing and in tonight's first episode, delves into the mystery of what happened to Katrice Lee, who vanished on her second birthday back in November 1981.

Before the 45-year-old TV star's Strictly Come Dancing appearance in 2021, where he was partnered with Nadiya Bychkova, Dan's personal life was somewhat of a mystery. He made the quarter-finals before being booted out but admitted he was surprised by how far he had come.

During the BBC competition, viewers saw glimpses of his devoted wife Sarah for the first time, who cheered on her husband in the studio audience along with their three children. The couple got together at university in 1999, when Dan was studying for a postgraduate degree in journalism at the University of Sheffield after deciding teaching wasn't for him.

Dan Walker left the BBC and is now a star on Channel 5 (Twitter)

The couple dated for two years before getting married in 2001 and went on to have children Susanna, Jessica and Joe. Sarah made a rare appearance on Strictly when Dan dedicated his Viennese waltz performance to her and their children in adorable scenes. "I'm just going to gush over her for a moment. Because she's one of those people, the more you know her the more you love her," he said.

"And I've known her and loved her for over half my life." Dan added: "There she is, she's absolutely amazing, she's such a special person and I love her to bits. I hope she enjoyed that because we really loved it."

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Despite Dan hailing from West Sussex and holding up television jobs in London, the family of five made the decision to return to living back up north in 2017. Explaining the decision to Daily Mail in 2018, Dan said: "My wife Sarah and I moved to Sheffield last year because it's played a big part in our lives - we both studied here and it's where I began broadcasting."

He met Sarah at university and they recently returned to live in the city where they started their romance (BBC)

But there is a reason as to why fans hadn't seen much of Sarah until Dan's Strictly stint, despite being together for 24 years. The 5 News anchor responded to an Instagram Q&A about why he never posts photos of his wife. He replied: "Good question... because she doesn't want to be on social media. Simple as that. She's much wiser than me."

He has also admitted to some slip-ups over the course of their two-decade marriage, however. The dad-of-three revealed that he doesn't always get it right when it comes to Valentine's Day and hit a "low point" with one attempt at a romantic gesture. Writing in his column for iNews, he wrote: "My best gifts over the years have included posh chocolates, meals out and a surprise trip to see Les Miserables at the theatre.

"If watching Michael Ball belting out 'Empty Chairs and Empty Tables' was the height of my Valentinian prowess, then the low point came about a decade ago when I inexplicably decided to wrap a saucepan up with an accompanying card." He continued: "'I know we don't take it really seriously,' said Mrs Walker the next morning, 'But can we never go down the kitchen route again please?'. I offered no excuses. It was a poor choice." Before this blunder, it seems he was rather romantic as he has previously spoken of writing love letters to his wife when they first began dating.

Vanished: The Search for Britain's Missing airs tonight at 8pm on Channel 5.

Saffron Otter