Strictly Come Dancing is now underway and Lancashire’s very own Krishnan Guru-Murthy has revealed the reason he decided to say yes to appearing on the show this year.

The Channel 4 newsreader appeared on Good Morning Britain (GMB) today (September 18) to discuss the start of his Strictly journey.

Guru-Murthy has so far appeared in the pre-recorded first episode of this year’s dancing competition which aired on Saturday, September 16.

Viewers found out which celebrities had been pair with each professional dancer for their duration on the show and Krishnan’s dancing partner was revealed as Lauren Oakley.

Why did Krishnan Guru-Murthy say yes to Strictly this year?

Krishnan was joined by Oakley on the sofa and was asked by Richard Madeley on GMB, why he had decided to say yes after years of saying no to being on Strictly.

He said the reason he had said yes this year is “a bit of a mixture of things”.

He explained: “It was partly you know what it’s been like the last few years. I think post-pandemic, political chaos, Ukraine war, all of that.

"We’ve been through a very very serious time and I suddenly realised this is kind of an opportunity to just have a real laugh and a lot of joy in your life alongside all of that.”

Krishnan added that it’d be “stupid to say no”.

Strictly Come Dancing line-up 2023 – who are the celebrities?

From comedians, broadcasters, Olympic champions and soap stars, here are the Strictly contestants taking part this autumn:

  • Sherlock and Mr Selfridge actress Amanda Abbington
  • Former newsreader Angela Rippon
  • Stage and screen star Layton Williams
  • Channel 4 journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy
  • Comedian Eddie Kadi
  • Irish presenter Angela Scanlon
  • Love Island’s Zara McDermott
  • Emmerdale and Waterloo Road actor Adam Thomas
  • BBC radio presenter Nikita Kanda
  • Coronation Street's Ellie Leach
  • Paralympic Champion Jody Cundy CBE
  • Eastenders star Bobby Brazier
  • Casualty star Nigel Harman
  • British tennis player Annabel Croft
  • Former Family Fortunes host and actor Les Dennis

Strictly Come Dancing 2023 professional dancers – who are they?

Let’s take a look at who the Strictly professional dancers are this year:

  • Dianne Buswell
  • Nadiya Bychkova
  • Graziano Di Prima
  • Karen Hauer
  • Katya Jones
  • Neil Jones
  • Nikita Kuzmin
  • Gorka Marquez
  • Luba Mushtuk
  • Giovanni Pernice
  • Jowita Przystal
  • Johannes Radebe
  • Kai Widdrington
  • Nancy Xu
  • Carlos Gu
  • Lauren Oakley
  • Michelle Tsiakkas
  • Vito Coppola

You can see Krishnan and the other celebrities dance with their professional partners on Strictly Come Dancing which starts at 6.15pm on Saturday, September 23.