Dr Punam Krishan’s brush with death before joining Strictly

Strictly Come Dancing 2024 contestant Dr Punam Krishan is about to take on a new challenge by stepping out onto the ballroom floor in September, but she already had a life-changing experience prior to the dance competition show.

The BBC Morning Live GP almost died shortly after giving birth to her son Aarish, it was an eye-opening event that changed her approach to medicine and life. Speaking in 2019 with the Scottish Herald, Krishan explained how complications after her son's birth led her to having a postpartum haemorrhage and being put on a ventilator in intensive care.

"My family were told that I didn't have long to live. What happened to me was a complete out-the-blue crisis point in life that gives you a scare," she explained.

"It was a freak, bleed-out episode. I went into heart and lung failure, developed clotting issues and widespread sepsis."

Her shocking brush with death led Krishan to have a life-changing epiphany about her health and wellbeing, she came to rely on exercise and better eating to "nourish [herself] inside and out" after realising she didn't want to rely on just drugs to improve her health.

She told the publication: "It is amazing what insights being on the other side of that desk can give you. I returned to work a completely different doctor."

The Scottish medical professional has since dedicated herself to helping others improve their health through food and exercise, the health expert has also appeared on programmes like BBC Morning Live to help viewers at home and also launched her own YouTube channel to do the same.

Krishan has spoken honestly about the difficulties faced by GPs everyday, sharing an op-ed with The i in 2019 in which she explained how she experienced burnout by 33 following an overbearing workload and the expectations put on GPs to help with everything.

"I never expected to burn out, especially at such an early stage in my GP journey. But I followed the typical trajectory, qualifying as a GP at the age of 28 and burning myself out at 33. The crazy part was I couldn’t even see it coming," she said.

"With contractual points to achieve, training to give to trainees, growth to be sought at work, I found myself giving and giving until the day my family holiday was ruined by my inability to switch off from work. I was physically abroad with family, but mentally I was at my practice."

Krishan explained that she felt she wasn't being "an effective mother" as a result of her busy workload and that she was always taking work home with her, she experienced both work and parent guilt during this time and struggled not to feel "permanently snowed under".

In the end, Krishan prioritised her mental and physical wellbeing, choosing to become a full-time GP locum which would allow her to just "see patients, help them and go home".

Now, Krishan is ready to take on a wholly different challenge by appearing on Strictly. The dance show is a favourite in her household, she told Vernon Kay on his Radio 2 programme after being unveiled as a cast member, and so she is excited to do her best on the show for her children.

Strictly Come Dancing 2024 starts on Saturday 14 September on BBC One and iPlayer.