Reeta Chakrabarti has revealed that she would turn down any approach to appear on Strictly Come Dancing in order to maintain her “seriousness”.
The veteran BBC newsreader said that while some of her peers had successfully performed on the dance show, including Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy, she would refuse.
She questioned how she could continue to read “grim” news while “waltzing around the place in sequins”.
Her comments come as Chakrabarti, who earns between £270,000 and £274,999, is helping to present the News at Ten while BBC bosses weigh up a successor to Huw Edwards.
The disgraced newsreader has left a vacancy on the flagship evening bulletin, and plunged the corporation into a wider crisis, following his conviction for making indecent images of children.
While speculation about the permanent News at 10 anchor continues, Chakrabarti, who joined the BBC in 1992, has insisted she would not undermine her own public persona by appearing on Strictly.
Speaking to the How To Be 60 with Kaye Adams podcast, she said: “I read out so many grim stories. You know, news is difficult, isn’t it? And how can I do that and, you know, be sort of waltzing around the place in sequins, much as I’d love to.
“Krishnan Guru-Murthy did it spectacularly successfully and good for him; and he looked like he had such a good time and no one takes him any the less seriously, but I don’t think I could. One has to acknowledge one’s limitations.
“For me, I don’t think it would be right.”
When asked whether it was a burden to have to be serious, she said: “I think with Strictly, it’s more a question of how you present yourself publicly, isn’t it?
“And in my case, and this is not in any sense a judgment on anybody else who does it, because it does look such, such fun, but in my case I just don’t think I could quite do it.”
Chakrabarti has not spoken about her chances of being named Edwards’s permanent replacement.
Recently, she has helped to present the News at Ten, the BBC’s flagship evening bulletin, alongside colleagues Sophie Raworth and Clive Myrie.
Edwards fronted the News at Ten for 20 years until last year, following allegations in The Sun newspaper that a senior figure at the corporation had paid a young person for sexually explicit images.
Bookmakers have often favoured Myrie’s chances of taking the News at Ten role permanently. The presenter, among the BBC’s highest paid on between £310,000 and £314,999, previously said that he was “incredibly pleased with what I’ve got”.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
