“I identify as being a Glaswegian Indian – a "Glajabi" as I like to call myself. So, yeah, a bit of Scottish, a bit of Indian in there – that would just be pure magic,” said Dr Punam Krishan, soon after she was revealed in the 2024 line-up of BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
And, she certainly did bring that “Glajabi” spirit to the dance floor over the weekend with her take on ‘Bole Chudiyan’ from one of Bollywood’s biggest worldwide box-office hits ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’. Along with her professional dance partner Gorka Márquez, the National Health Service (NHS) GP and children’s author was in tears after making ‘Strictly’ history with the first “Couple’s Choice” Bollywood dance in the show’s 20-year history.
She said: "I never saw Indian girls dancing on mainstream television, so to be doing now an Indian dance on a platform like Strictly, it's huge.
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"I am such a proud Scottish Indian girl. In this Couple's Choice, I really just want to bring my culture and my heritage to the forefront… Representation matters, so for me this is a huge moment."
Krishan is a resident GP on ‘BBC Morning Live’ and ‘BBC Radio Scotland’ and a broadcast regular on health issues. The mother-of-two has also written a children’s book and has plans to pen more publications.
When she joined the competitive dance show, she said: “It feels extremely special to be part of it on the 20th anniversary. It's a show that I've loved for so long, so to be part of this feels extremely special. I'm just very honoured to get to spend it with people that I've admired for years, the judges, the pro dancers and to celebrate with them.
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“I am a proud Scot, so to be able to represent Glasgow and Scotland – bonnie Scotland – in Strictly feels very, very special. I just hope that I do them proud. To see tartan-infused sparkles in the numbers would be extremely magical. I could take it up a notch.”
Her energetic Bollywood performance, which she dedicated to the memory of her Indian grandfather who passed away during the Covid pandemic, won her high praise and high scores from the judges.
*Info: BBC Strictly Come Dancing