Strictly Come Dancing’s Dr Punam Krishan has revealed she’s taking full advantage of the physios on hand to keep herself in peak condition for the popular dance competition.
The practicing GP and Morning Live star was spotted updating her online followers after a successful weekend in the ballroom. Dr Punam and her dance partner Gorka Marquez made history by introducing Bollywood to the BBC One dance contest for the first time.
Only 13 out of the 14 remaining couples performed during Strictly’s annual Movie Week, as DIY SOS star Nick Knowles and his dance partner Luba Mushtuk had to withdraw from the show at the last minute due to an injury Nick sustained just before the live show.
During the show, Dr Punam and Gorka delivered the first couple’s choice of the show’s 20th-anniversary series to Bole Chudiyan from the Bollywood film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, earning them a joint second place on the leaderboard with a score of 33.
Their performance quickly led to an outpouring of praise from Strictly viewers on social media, who congratulated Punam and Gorka for bringing Bollywood to the hit dance show, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Following an emotional response on the night, Dr Punam has now shared further reflections on her performance. She posted photos of herself and Gorka in spectacular Bollywood attire and expressed: “‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ This dance was more than just a dance, this was a moment that was layers deep, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to bring a piece of my culture and my story to you.”
On that night, as she lay on the Strictly Come Dancing floor ready to begin, she felt the presence of her late grandfather, writing, “I’ve got goosebumps as I write this but I could feel he was there watching over me, bursting with pride.”
She could sense her parents’ pride and envisioned herself as a young girl who dreamed of seeing an Indian girl like her on television.
She continued saying: “This Glasgow girl danced her wee Bollywood heart out on that floor. I had the honour of doing this with my wonderful partner @gorka_marquez who embraced it all with such love and respect. Your outpouring of love and support since has meant the world to me. Thank you for voting for us and getting us through to week 4. I hope this dance sparked some joy for you, and piqued an interest in Indian music and dance. Go watch the film – it’s amazing.”
After sailing through to week four of Strictly Come Dancing’s 20th anniversary series, Dr Punam has dived back into training and updated her followers on social media. She described returning to her routine as “back to reality” after experiencing “the most surreal 72 hours of my life”.
She elaborated: “I feel like I say that every week after the Strictly live performances but there is no other way to describe it, and this weekend it just went up several notches because it truly was the most magical, special, most memorable night of my life. But we are back to a new week, a new challenge, a new dance, back to not having a clue what I’m doing but really embracing it and soaking it all up..”
d she had been in rehearsals and took time to visit a physio. Although not injured, she sought support for her aching joints following Saturday’s performance.
“For somebody like me who has never danced before, going from very normal levels of physical activity to essentially training seven to eight hours of dancing a day. It does take a toll on the body and you do really need to look after yourself..”
Later, at home, Dr Punam’s son shared how his mum had earned some ‘cool mum points’ for appearing on Newsround. During their ‘daily debrief’, her 11 year old son Aarish recounted the excitement of his classmates seeing his mum on Newsround discussing her historic moment on Strictly.
Dr Punam shared: “I just loved it and then at break, everyone was chatting to me about it and catching me up saying, ‘Can I get your mum’s autograph? ‘ I was like, ‘Yeah! ‘” She confessed: “It’s just really surreal. Did I win the cool mummy award today? But it’s all very surreal. This isn’t the kind of thing we’re used to.”
She said: “I’m glad you found it cool,” to which Aairsh replied: “I did,” before they exchanged loving words.
Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on BBC iPlayer