Yahoo News Krishnan Guru-Murthy: 'My wife says Strictly made me happy for first time in 35 years'
The newsreader says he has found the joy in his life since signing up to the show.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy has admitted his family think that Strictly Come Dancing has made him happy for the first time in 35 years.
The newsreader is currently competing in the BBC One show with pro dancer Lauren Oakley and threw himself into last Saturday's movie week with a Cabaret-themed Charleston that earned him 30 points.
Guru-Murthy, 53, looked like he was having the time of his life - and it seems his wife Lisa and brother Ravi agree, as they told him they didn't think he had ever really been happy in decades before beginning dancing.
Speaking to Steph's Packed Lunch on Tuesday, Guru-Murthy said: "I'm having the best time ever. It's a terrible admission, my wife and I went for a walk the other day with the dog.
"She turned to me and said she'd been talking to my brother and they were wondering whether I have never been really happy for the last 35 years.
Read more: Strictly week 4: Who's dancing to what this weekend?
"She said, 'Strictly has unleashed something in you that has been repressed by 35 years of news'."
The joyful effect of Strictly has rubbed off on Guru-Murthy's fans, too, as he said people are much more likely to smile at him now when they stop him in the street.
He said that previously, people would stop him to ask for his opinions on the news, but now they liked to talk to him about Strictly instead.
"People are much happier now than when they talk to me about the news," he said.
One person who did not see Guru-Murthy signing up to Strictly as a positive to begin with was his son, though, as the broadcaster admitted: "He desperately didn't want me to do it.
"He was really head in his hands when I said I think I'm going to do it, and he begged me not to."
But he added: "The last couple of weeks he didn't want anything to do with it, but he came last week after watching us the week before...Now he's hooked."
Guru-Murthy has spoken about being keen on increasing his fitness during training for the show after losing weight earlier this year to help with his health conditions, which include Crohn's disease and a heart condition.
He told TV host Steph McGovern how he had experienced a wake-up call when he was diagnosed with gout earlier in the year, calling it "really, really embarrassing".
