Dan Walker is back on our screens providing us with commentary on the Olympic Games in Tokyo, expertly guiding us through all of the sports on display and revelling in Team GB’s success.
Dan’s well-known for his roles across the BBC, from presenting BBC Sport shows since his 20s and, more recently, hosting BBC Breakfast alongside the likes of Louise Minchin, Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty.
But off-screen, 44-year-old Dan leads a very private life, and says he has never worked on Sundays or Mondays for one important reason.
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BBC’s Dan Walker says he never works Sundays, keeping it as an important spiritual day for his family
(Image: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Is Dan Walker married?
Dan is happily married to his wife Sarah, who keeps a very low profile.
The couple met in 1999 when they both attended the University of Sheffield – Dan graduated with a Master’s degree in broadcast journalism.
They married in 2001 after two years of dating.
Dan and Sarah now live in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and have three children together – a boy named Joe and two girls named Susanna and Jessica.
Dan told MailOnline: “My wife Sarah and I moved to Sheffield last year because it’s played a big part in our lives.
“We both studied here and it’s where I began broadcasting.”
The family also has an adorable dog called Winnie.
However, like everyone, the couple have a playful bicker every now and again. Dan told The Pirate Ship Podcast that Sarah would “shout at him” if she found out he bought not one, not two but three barbecues to fulfil his newfound passion for grilling food.
Why Dan doesn’t work on Sundays
Dan doesn’t work on Sundays, Mondays and every other Friday, a decision he made at the start of his career.
This is because of his Evangelical Christian faith.
“I try to keep [Sunday] as a special day – a day when my kids know I’m around, when we go to church. It’s important to me and my family,” he told the Daily Mail.
Dan added to the Radio Times that he’s “in the job because I love doing it, but it’s not the be all and end all”.
He said: “For practical and spiritual reasons it’s really important to me.
“It’s a personal decision I made for the good of my family, and I’ve managed somehow to maintain it for 20 years.”
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Hardworking Dan is rewarded handsomely for his presenting gigs.
The BBC’s annual salary report revealed that Dan took home £295,000 in the last year – despite not working for several days of the week.
Dan joined the BBC in his 20s, covering sporting events including Wimbledon, the Six Nations, and the British Open.
In 2016, he replaced Bill Turnbull as presenter of BBC Breakfast, and he is currently fronting the BBC’s Olympics Breakfast show with 2016 hockey gold medallist Sam Quek.
This isn’t his first Olympics rodeo, though: Dan became a viral sensation during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when a hen party interrupted his live BBC Four coverage.
He recently revealed he’s still in contact with the bride who agreed to be interviewed live during her big night out in August 2016. In the sweet encounter, bride Maria De Cezar sent her love to her fiancé while her hen party chanted loudly nearby on Copacabana beach.
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