Graeme Hall was used to doing the training when he started on Strictly Come Dancing , but over the past few weeks, he has been under the tutelage of Lauren Oakley , and the dancing pair have become quite popular.
The professional dog trainer has been one of the biggest surprises of the series, with a stunning waltz to The Godfather Waltz putting him at the top of the leaderboard in the early stages of the competition.
Although last week's spooky samba saw them at the bottom of the leaderboard, Graeme and Lauren managed to avoid the dance-off, and this week they will be performing their Couple's Choice routine to The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel.
But what do you know about the Channel 5 personality? From his secret dance lessons to his surprising first career that had nothing to do with dogs, here's all you need to know about 'The Dogfather'...
Today, most people know Graeme as the trainer on Channel 5's Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly . Graeme first became a dog trainer in 2008, setting up his own school, and in 2017, he presented a one-off special on Channel 4 called Dogs Behaving Badly . The format was picked up for a full series in 2019 by Channel 5, and Graeme has been presenting ever since.
Thanks to this, Graeme has appeared as an expert on This Morning , helping then-presenter Holly Willoughby with some tips for her own badly behaved pooch . He has also written columns for The Times and presented his show over in Australia.
However, despite his natural ability with dogs, the 59-year-old's first career was worlds away from his current life. The star originally worked at Weetabix as a shift manager, before progressing to a management consultant position; he took voluntary redundancy in 2007.
What's more, Graeme didn't own a dog until he was in his 40s, and while his job may come with plenty of benefits, he was once hospitalised by a German shepherd.
Speaking to PA , he admitted: "The most challenging one I've worked with, it's fair to say, is the dog that put me in hospital. If you do this work, sooner or later you're going to have an accident. I don't do big ego-driven things that cause dogs to be aggressive, it's not my style and it's not big or clever, but occasionally you're going to get a dog that reacts badly despite your best efforts."
He added: "This was a German shepherd dog, and I went to the house – the dog had been there for about a week, and they had no knowledge about his previous life because he’d been rehomed. As soon as they let me into the house, he went for me and bit my hand."
The star revealed that he stood "no chance" against the dog , and that he remained in hospital overnight in order to undergo surgery.
Graeme tries to keep much of his personal life away from the spotlight, but in 2017, the star married accountant Elinor Perry-Hall. The couple enjoyed a breathtaking ceremony, which took place in Sri Lanka, before a second ceremony that was held in Warwickshire. In 2023, the pair separated.
Graeme is now in a relationship with NHS worker Nikki Worth. Nikki has been seen supporting the star during his Strictly training, and the Mirror reported that the pair were introduced to each other through mutual friends.
The star has previously kept his children entirely out of the spotlight, but in a VT segment on Strictly, Graeme was joined by his daughter, Apryl, and his three grandchildren, Alby, Lillia and Seth. With the segment airing in time for Halloween, his grandchildren were adorably dressed as a demon, a witch and a vampire bat.
Graeme sweetly remarked: "There is nothing quite like that bond that you have with family, so I'll be dancing this one for them on Saturday."
Graeme isn't a complete beginner when it comes to the world of dance, and he has competed in novice competitions after developing a love for dance in 2012 following a charity event.
Speaking to the Radio Times ahead of the series, he explained: "Well, there's competitions and there's competitions, right? I got involved in a charity event in 2012, and then I carried on dancing as a hobby. And I did some beginner and novice competitions, in village halls and all around the country."
He added that his competitions were "great fun, but nothing like this [Strictly]".
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