Strictly fun dancing

‘‘ Dan has formed a fabulous partnership with Nadiya

With the Strictly Come Dancing quarter-final in sight, it feels like now might be a good time to finally give Dan Walker the credit he deserves.

Yes, I know I said he sometimes moves around that dancefloor like Herman Munster in concrete slippers. However, you just have to admire what he has achieved since he started at the end of August.

When he started out on his epic journey, Manchester United had just reacquired Cristiano Ronaldo and were going to win the Premier League, Emma Raducanu was a plucky loser from Wimbledon and Adele hadn’t even announced she had a new album coming out, never mind invaded the planet with it.

Dan has had such an amazing run that the other week I even dared to suggest that he could actually go on and win the glitterball.

Last weekend’s events merely confirmed him as a genuine contender.

Not only did he survive after doing the dreaded rumba (Strictly’s hospital pass), he also procured a six for it from Craig Revel Horwood.

Now, Craig is not stupid. He’s been around long enough to be able to read the room.

If Dan somehow pulls off an improbable victory, Craig will not want to be remembered as the grumpy one who tossed him threes and fours.

Craig knows that the public vote is king and the best dancer doesn’t always take the glitterball home.

It’s no coincidence that despite his rhythmic shortcomings, Dan has avoided the dance-off every single week.

The BBC spoilsports won’t reveal exactly how well he has been doing in the public vote.

But even an amateur statistician with a basic knowledge of the workings of that scoreboard could tell you he must be near the No1 spot with the viewers.

It’s not that hard to understand why. Dan has formed a fabulous partnership with Nadiya, and the public can see how hard they have both worked at it.

They also provide a lot more fun than some of the, let’s say, youthful, more intense pairings that are left.

Whether that will be enough to keep him in this weekend remains to be seen.

However, as Dan prepares to dance the tango I will offer this advice: Stand tall and keep your back straight, be aware of the sophisticated musicality, and – most crucially – DO NOT overlook the ancillary actions.

Only kidding. I copied that off the internet.

Just stride out on that dancefloor and have a laugh.