‘Their close friendship was clear to see’

Dan Walker took time out from his family holiday with wife Sarah and their three kids yesterday to act as Strictly pro Nadiya Bychkova‘s “Instagram husband”.

The pair – who were partnered on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 – attended the TRIC Awards. They took place at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel yesterday afternoon (June 24).

Nadiya Bychkova and Dan Walker have maintained a good friendship four years on from the show (Credit: BBC)

Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova reunite at awards do

Father-of-three Dan Walker explained how he had flown to the capital from Nice, France, to host the ceremony. He flew back on a 6am flight today to continue their quality time together.

However, according to the Daily Mail, Dan raised eyebrows at the glitzy ceremony by gushing over Nadiya. Reports also claimed that he acted as her “Instagram husband” by taking selfies with her and making sure she looked her best by taking pictures of Nadiya using a ring light for her socials.

It’s claimed that when Dan wasn’t on stage, the pair were together for most of the night.

Nadiya told the paper: “Dan is a really busy man but we try and make time for each other as and when we can. He has about 75 different jobs, I’m sure we won’t be seeing each other tonight as he is presenting, though we still have fun when we do see each other.”

Nadiya and Dan ‘raised eyebrows’ with their ‘odd’ behaviour at an awards do this week (Credit: Brett Cove/Shutterstock)

‘What is he doing?!’

However, sources at the TRIC Awards called out their behaviour as “cringey” and “odd”.

One claimed: “Wherever Dan moved, Nadiya would not be far behind. At one point she got up while still eating her dessert to go and join a group that he was in.”

He is also said to have made several references to Nadiya while hosting the ceremony. “He must have said Nadiya’s name lots of times! We were all like, what is he doing? It was cringe and quite baffling. Everyone at my table was like, what is going on? It certainly raised a few eyebrows. When he came off stage he then spent the whole time taking selfies with Nadiya and other celebrities. It was all very odd,” the source went on.

‘Dan disappeared and Nadiya was left alone’

Another source told the Mail their “close friendship was clear to see”.

They alleged: “Dan spent 15 minutes taking Instagram pictures of Nadiya from different angles with a selfie light and later they were never far apart from each other at the after party. They were seen together at the hotel reception before Dan disappeared in a lift while Nadiya was left alone. He had openly told guests he was to rejoin his family holiday in Nice on Wednesday by flying out of Gatwick on a 6am flight and would be back to his duties as a father in no time.”

Dan has maintained his firm friendship with Nadiya, almost four years after partnering up on the show. He’s been married to wife Sarah for almost 25 years. And she was in the audience supporting him during his time on the show. Nadiya is thought to be single following her split from Strictly pro Kai Widdrington last year.