Graeme Hall Strictly Come Dancing health battle and personal loss, Digi Mart USA News: Graeme Hall is impressing fans on this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing. He is best known for fronting the Channel 5 programme Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, but he has not shied away from giving it all on the dancefloor.
The series is now halfway through, and Graeme will perform a special Couple’s Choice routine with his partner, pro dancer Lauren Oakley, this week. Speaking about the dance, Lauren said: “I’m really excited about it, actually.
We’ve seen a lot of different sides to Graeme so far. We’ve had fun Graeme and we’ve leaned into a lot of characters, but next week, we get the chance to see his softer, tender side.”
Graeme added: “Yeah, there’s a side that I haven’t really told people about. I had a stroke in 2019.
I managed to recover fully, but my life changed completely. So, we’ll be telling a little bit about that story next week.”
In February 2019, Graeme was sitting watching TV when he felt a “weird buzzing” in his head. After being taken to hospital, an MRI confirmed he had suffered a stroke.
He later learned he had a hole in his heart. He told the Mirror: “I’d had it since birth – lots of people do – but mine was big enough to allow clots to pass through from one side to the other and get to the brain and that’s what caused the stroke.
Thankfully it was nowhere near as bad as some people have it.” He added: “I’ve been very fortunate.”
The TV star had an operation to close the hole and spent around seven months recovering from surgery. Graeme describes himself as a “glass half full” person, so he wants to give Strictly Come Dancing his all.
He danced for fun before his stroke, but is now thrilled to be back dancing on what he calls the most prestigious ballroom floor in British television.
In a recent social media post, Graeme shared the death of his dog Tish, prompting a wave of support from fans. He said: “Our Tish [angel wings] As true to terriers as could be.
Fiercely independent and as sassy as they come but deep down a real softy who loved a cuddle. Tish lived to over 17 and a half, even when frail she was adamant she could still do everything without help.
Tish’s legacy would definitely be ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’. She had hope, strength, willpower and positivity by the bucket load.
We could all be a little more Tish. Hugely missed but never forgotten.”
Known as The Dogfather, Graeme is the face of Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, which sees him visit households in need of help managing their dog’s poor behaviour. He creates long-lasting fixes to help make owners’ lives a little easier.
A one-off documentary titled Dogs Behaving Badly first aired in March 2017 on Channel 4. The show has since been renewed for an additional seven seasons on Channel 5.
Graeme recently celebrated the 100th episode of the show, posting on Instagram: “Celebrating our 100th episode of #DogsBehavingVeryBadly. Looking back with a few pictures from Series 5, 6 and 7…
I think we had fun.”
In 2023, an Australian version of Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly was launched, which saw Graeme take his skills Down Under. He has also starred as a presenter on The Dog Hospital, which is based at Willows, one of the UK’s top veterinary centres.
Away from the screen, Graeme married accountant Elinor Perry-Hall in 2017. They tied the knot in a ceremony in Sri Lanka before celebrating with friends in the UK.
Rumours about their split began to circulate in 2023. The reason for their separation has been kept under wraps, and Graeme still keeps his personal life relatively private.
He is now living in Northamptonshire with his partner Nikki.
Despite years of experience as a dog trainer, Graeme was once hospitalised after being savaged by a client’s German shepherd in Worcestershire in 2015. Before landing his role on the Channel 5 programme, he worked as a management consultant for Weetabix for 21 years.
He grew up in Selby, Yorkshire, before attending the University of Hull.
His desire for a major career change stemmed from retraining his own Rottweilers, Axel and Gordon. Graeme said: “I had two Rottweilers and set about training them.
Then someone from a dog training company said something that changed the course of my life, ‘Why don’t you become a dog trainer?’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because you’re good with people’. That’s what hooked me, as he said it’s a combination of being good with people and good with dogs.”
