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‘Devoted friend’ Dan Walker spent a night away from his family holiday to attend an event with former Strictly Come Dancing partner Nadiya Bychkova.
The Channel 5 presenter, 48, hosted the TRIC Awards on Tuesday at Grosvenor House in London while professional dancer Nadiya, 35, attended the ceremony as a guest.
Father of three Dan explained how he had flown to the capital from Nice, France, leaving his children and wife Sarah to adhere to his work commitments, before flying back on a 6am flight to continue their quality time together.
Meanwhile, onlookers at the TV and radio event say Dan seemed enchanted by Nadiya, who wore an elegant black and white gown, as the pair appeared to reignite their close friendship, which MailOnline previously revealed was the talk of Strictly.
Sources have revealed that Dan, who name-checked Nadiya on several occasions during his presentation of the TRIC Awards, acted as her ‘Instagram husband’, taking time to capture the star from her best angles with a selfie ring light, before they continued their night together at an after party, held at the 5-star hotel’s Red Bar.
But once guests had left the gathering and Dan’s hosting duties were seemingly over, the duo was spotted together in the hotel reception.
A source revealed: ‘Dan and Nadiya’s close friendship was clear to see at the TRIC Awards.
‘He hosted the event and Nadiya was invited as a guest and also presented a gong but in the absence of any other Strictly dancers, she spent the night catching up with Dan.
‘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.’
In the early hours of the morning, Nadiya shared a cryptic post on her Instagram story, which read: ‘The only way to truly move me is by being a good person. I don’t care what you own, wear, where you live, or what you drive.
‘I admire people with pure hearts and genuine intentions, that’s what truly stands out to me.’
Nadiya shared on her profile that she attended the TRIC Awards, which honoured the likes of Sir Trevor McDonald and Eamonn Holmes, with the charity Bright Young Dreams, formed by Dan, who’s a patron of the Children’s Hospital Charity, in 2023.
She presented the award for Radio Presenter with former Strictly contestant Tasha Ghouri but appeared to be the only professional dancer in attendance.
The London event, which also saw Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks win their first award for podcast Staying Relevant, began early afternoon at 3pm and concluded with an after party until 11pm.
MailOnline previously told of how Dan and Nadiya’s close friendship became the ‘talk of the Strictly’ cast due to their gushing social media posts and regular meet-ups.
More than three years on from their dance partnership, Dan and the Ukrainian dancer continue to share snaps of their outings on Instagram, which is in stark contrast to his wife of 23-years, Sarah.
He met the mother of his three children at the University of Sheffield and says she prefers to stay out of the limelight, revealing in 2021: ‘She doesn’t want to be on social media. Simple as that. She’s much wiser than me.’
In March, Dan supported the dancer on tour, interviewing the mother of one on stage for A Special Evening with Nadiya during the Sheffield and Barnsley shows.
They also took part in a glamorous cover shoot for the Yorkshire Post Magazine where Dan wore a tuxedo and Nadiya stunned in a figure-hugging red gown.
Nadiya has been single since she and fellow Strictly dancer Kai Widdrington split last year.
Kai has since moved on with girlfriend Chloe Wells, who he made his first public appearance with two days ago at the launch of his Evolution tour.
