Dan Walker says viral hen party video ‘could have gone horribly wrong’

Walker’s encounter with a lively hen party in Rio went viral in 2016

Dan Walker has addressed the time that a hen party crashed his Rio Olympics coverage, joking that it had potential to go very differently.

In August 2016, Walker was on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, presenting for BBC Four, when he and his crew encountered an unexpected disruption from a raucous hen party that was passing by.

The bride, Maria De Cezar, was invited for an impromptu chat on the programme in an appearance that went viral shortly after.

Walker appeared on Monday’s episode (6 June) of Good Morning Britain ahead of his imminent move to Channel 5 News.

Asked about the viral moment by host Susanna Reid, Walker said that he and De Cezar are “still friends”, adding that they most recently spoke last week.

Shortly after the televised moment, Walker said that Maria’s mother invited him to the wedding.

“She now has a lovely little daughter called Joanna,” said the former BBC Breakfast host.

Co-host Richard Madeley called De Cezar a “live TV dream”, to which Walker joked that his decision to invite her to speak on the broadcast “could’ve gone horribly wrong”.

Walker, who had been a fixture on BBC Breakfast since 2016, announced his departure from the network in May.

He leaves the BBC to join Channel 5 to become the lead anchor on 5 News.

Walker also previously presented the BBC’s Football Focus show from 2009 to 2021.