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<\/p>\nHe’s fast becoming the favourite on this year’s Strictly for his loveable character – earning him thousands of young fans on social media who hail him a ‘legend’ and a ‘hero’.<\/p>\n
Krishnan Guru-Murthy, 53, says he hopes to put his new approachable persona to good use by encouraging the younger generation to engage more with current affairs.<\/p>\n
The Channel 4 news anchor, who now has 30 thousand Instagram followers, said: ‘My social media was Twitter because it’s a news platform essentially.<\/p>\n
‘I wasn’t an Instagram presence before but I have embraced it with TikTok while doing Strictly.<\/p>\n
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Star quality: Krishnan Guru-Murthy has said his time on Strictly Come Dancing has helped him bring ‘balance’ back into his life<\/p>\n
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Spreading the word: He said that he hopes to put his new approachable persona to good use by encouraging the younger generation to engage more with current affairs<\/p>\n
‘It’s great – you’re in touch with a new audience which is really nice.<\/p>\n
‘My hope is that I can stay in touch with the younger audience and maybe entice them across to the other stuff that is in my life such as hard news.’<\/p>\n
Working with Channel 4 for more than 25 years means the father-of-three is the network’s second longest-serving presenter – covering major events from the Omagh Bombing to 9\/11.<\/p>\n
His face has become synonymous with the delivering of tragic news while reporting from war-torn countries.<\/p>\n
Krishnan admitted that he joined the show to ‘Get some balance back’ into his life.<\/p>\n
He said: ‘Now, the difficulty is obviously, I would like to be in Israel right now but as soon as I’m out of Strictly, I’m sure I’ll be out there.’<\/p>\n
But his ever-growing popularity among fans may mean he is kept in the competition until the final on 17th December through the public vote.<\/p>\n
When the show began in September, Krishnan had the lowest odds of remaining in the competition out of the 15 other contestants, with fans believing he would be out in the first week.<\/p>\n
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Reality:\u00a0Krishnan described the toll of covering difficult and sensitive topics on the news, such as the war in Ukraine, the pandemic and most recently the ongoing situation in the Middle East<\/p>\n
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He said: ‘Now, the difficulty is obviously, I would like to be in Israel right now but as soon as I’m out of Strictly, I’m sure I’ll be out there.’ (pictured Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires)\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A Palestinian carries a wounded man following an Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza<\/p>\n
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Reaction: His son Jay begged his father not to take part in the show and refused to attend the launch episode but offered support weeks later with his mum Lisa\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he and partner Lauren Oakley, 32, swayed public opinion after performing a ‘groovy’ Cha Cha on the opening show and his unexpectedly joyful persona earned him ‘legendary’ status on social media.<\/p>\n
One fan wrote: ‘Watching Krishnan do the news you don’t see much of his personality but this is what Strictly is about – I was not expecting it but I loved it.’<\/p>\n
The British public’s soft spot for the newsreader shocked even his Channel 4 bosses who said last week: ‘If we knew you were going to be this good, we never would have said yes to you doing it’.<\/p>\n
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin<\/span> – Tango to\u00a0Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo –\u00a036 points out of 40<\/span><\/p>\n Nigel Harman and Katya Jones<\/span> – Cha Cha to I Was Made For Lovin’ You by Kiss –\u00a030 points out of 40<\/span><\/p>\n