"We have our moments where it's a bit frustrating"
Lauren Oakley has admitted there is some tension with her Strictly Come Dancing partner Krishnan Guru-Murthy in training, with the Channel 4 newsreader calling himself “needy”.
Krishnan took to the dancefloor for his first performance – a high-energy Cha Cha Cha to Apache Indian’s ‘Boom Shack-A-Lack’.
The news anchor impressed the judges with his moves as head judge Shirley Ballas complimented:
“You have something, you have a gift. Natural co-ordination.”
The dance pair scored 22 out of 40.
But Lauren told Janette Manrara that behind the scenes it was not always easy.
She admitted: “We have our moments where it’s a bit frustrating in the training room.”
Krishnan quickly added: “She’s brilliant. She’s temperamentally perfect for me, she handles me very well and doesn’t get cross.
“I’m so tired. I’ve become needy and over-sensitive and all the rest of it.”
Lauren continued: “It feels really funny when I have to be a bit more firm. Not mean, just firm.”
She said she feels “wrong to tell him what to do” because she has seen him on the news for so long but added:
“It’s because I care.”
Speaking about their first performance, Lauren added:
“We’re in the middle of the board which I think is nice. We’ve got somewhere to go.”
The pair also revealed they will be performing a Foxtrot to Billy Ocean’s ‘Foxtrot to Love Really Hurts Without You’ for their second dance.
Lauren said this dance was “more controlled” and she was having to “train out” Krishnan’s “natural rhythm” as he needs to “keep still”.
Krishnan revealed his wife Lisa was “appalled and embarrassed” about his Strictly debut and prior to his debut, he said medics warned him about getting on the dancefloor.
The newsreader has a genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which has already killed two of his cousins.
Krishnan’s cardiologist told him he needs to keep his heart rate below 140 otherwise he risks death.
He said: “The basic advice is, I’ve got to keep my heart out of the red zone, which is the last 15 per cent of your heart rate.
“So, I’ve got to keep my heart rate below about 140, and I don’t know whether you can do that or not, in a 90-second very fast dance.
“My cardiologist basically said, ‘I can’t give you a hundred per cent guarantee that you won’t drop dead, but you’ll be fine’.
Loading ...