'In my head, I'm Beyonce': Glasgow GP prepares for Strictly

“I’m always first on the dancefloor,” she says, with a laugh.

“And you know, people will send you the footage, and I’m thinking - hmm, in my head last night I was Beyonce, but this looks very much like a car crash…”

She adds, with a roll of her eyes: “I really hope I can become a bit more of an elegant dancer…..”

Punam is getting ready to take to the dancefloor (Image: Kieron McCarron/BBC)

Punam is taking the plunge, diving twinkletoes first into the world of Strictly Come Dancing as the glittery, global hit celebrates its 20th anniversary.

As a Glasgow GP working in the city’s East End, her day job is about as far removed from foxtrots and fake tan as it is possible to be.

Punam is no stranger to television - she is resident doctor on BBC’s magazine show Morning Live; she was the hard-hitting doc delivering difficult news to patients in reality show Laid Bare; and she has appeared on The Weakest Link.

Her dance experience, however, is “zilch”, she laughs.

Dr Punam filming in her East End surgery (Image: Dr Punam Krishan)

“I love dancing but I know I’m absolutely rubbish at it,” she groans. “It feels like a very different world I am about to enter, from being in a very academic headspace, where my job is very controlled, and a lot of pressure, to getting the opportunity to learn a new skill, something I have always wanted to do.

"I just want to learn and do well.”

The show has been at the centre of a storm of negative stories in recent months, including allegations of abusive behaviour in the training room. The BBC has insisted it has robust duty of care procedures, which it has bolstered with a series of new measures including giving stars chaperones in rehearsals.

Did the saga playing out in the media affect Punam’s decision to take up the offer?

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“No. Not at all,” she says, firmly. “I watch the show every year, with my little boy, and Strictly for me is cosy nights, permission to just relax and get lost in the magic of sparkle, glitter, dancing…

“The press and negativity haven’t even remotely affected that.

“My job is really intense, so I look forward to those Saturday nights. To be able to jump off the sofa into the telly box feels like an absolute moment I can’t wait to savour.”

During the pandemic, Punam was a columnist for this newspaper, and she has also written a children’s book, How to Be a Doctor and Other Life-Saving Jobs.

Dr Punam Krishan (Image: Newsquest)

Making it to the giddy heights of Strictly, however, is the unexpected realisation of a long-held fantasy.

“It’s been a dream for so many years,” she marvels, taking time out from rehearsals to speak to The Glasgow Times

“When I got the call, I genuinely thought it was a prank. I kept saying, is this a joke? Is this actually happening?”

She adds, with a grin: “And that was followed by about 10 minutes of the ugliest crying I’ve ever cried. I was just so excited, and grateful.”

The mood in the training camp, where Punam joins a cast which also includes singer Toyah Willcox, Love Island alumnus Tasha Ghouri, EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and former England and Arsenal footballer Paul Merson, is upbeat, she adds.

“There’s been nothing but positivity and lots of support,” she says.

Punam grew up in the East End of Glasgow, attending Hillhead Primary and Notre Dame Secondary which, at the time, was an all-girls state school, before studying medicine at the University of Glasgow.

Her parents, who moved to the city from Punjab in India in the 1970s, ran the local corner shop.

“We didn’t have a huge amount when we were growing up,” recalls Punam. “My dad worked in the shop, and that’s where all my childhood memories are, really. We’d start the day before school there, we’d do the paper round, we’d be back there after school….

“We stayed in a wee tenement flat with my parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and cousins. It was colourful.”

It was not always easy, however, being the daughter of first generation Scottish Indians in Glasgow.

In her Glasgow Times column, she spoke about the racism and abuse her parents experienced.

“Watching that as a child was really upsetting,” Punam wrote. “They never said anything back. They just served. I didn’t see us as being different but when I would look at the papers and magazines on the shelves, it would hit home - we were different.”

She is now bringing up her own children – a son, 11, and a daughter, four - in the city, but says things have changed dramatically.

“I was the odd one out growing up, I remember the ache, of just wanting to fit in,” she says, simply.

“And I don’t see that in my children, which is beautiful. They have incredible circles of friends and they just don’t see any difference.”

She adds: “Glasgow is mixed, it’s beautiful, it’s inclusive, and I think we have come a long way.

“I identify as being a Glaswegian Indian - a Glajabi, as I like to call myself - so to be able to represent Glasgow and Scotland in Strictly feels very, very special.”

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing begins tonight (Saturday, September 14) at 7.20pm on BBC ONE.