Because she was raised in Glasgow, Strictly star Dr Punam Krishan’s mum and dad worried about her growing up in a "wildly different culture" but she ensured she wouldn’t let them down.
TV medic Dr Punam Krishan is relishing her stint on Strictly Come Dancing thanks to her love of the programme and of dancing. She made history on the BBC talent show, partnered with Gorka Márquez, when the pair performed the series’ first-ever traditional Bollywood number. Punam and Gorka danced their Couple's Choice routine to Bole Chudiyan from the iconic Bollywood movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham for Movie Week.
Punam became emotional after the performance and told host Claudia Winkleman: "I feel like I would have loved to have seen something like this when I was growing up. And I guess you just can’t be what you can’t see." She later revealed how proud her parents were of her for the dance and said her dad cried after watching the meaningful moment.
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PA)Punam was born and raised in Glasgow after her parents relocated there from Punjab, India in the seventies. She is the oldest of two sisters and she has previously spoken about their concerns over raising children in a different country and how important visits back to Punjab were. She told The Herald: "They would often worry about my sister and I losing the connection to our Indian heritage as we grew up in Glasgow in a wildly different culture. Those trips would help ground me and I'd always come back home with a renewed perspective on life."
She also shared the values that were instilled by her mother and father and the importance they placed on how education: "It was ingrained in us that education was the key to freedom. You were either going to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant or a failure," she said. They needn’t have worried though because Punam kept to her promise to learn and gained her medical degree from Glasgow University. She now practises as a GP from Monday to Thursday mornings, dedicating the rest of her time to her other media commitments and appearances, including her stints on BBC's Morning Live.
She certainly showed her mum and dad that she hasn't lost touch with her roots either with her Strictly Bollywood performance and shared how blown away her parents had been. Talking to Fleur East on It Takes Two she said: "It was such a 360 moment for my mum. Growing up, one of her biggest concerns was what if me and my sister weren't connected to our culture and the response has been phenomenal."
She added: "There have been people across the country who have never heard of Bollywood that were watching and connected with the music, which is more than I could have ever asked for. It has been reported in all of Indian press so for my mum she was like, 'My girl’s made it' so for her it was just really emotional, my dad was crying, my granny in India watched it on the television there. It's been huge for my family. It really was a special moment."
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