Strictly Come Dancing favourite Aljaž Škorjanec echoed profound words from his father as he talked about becoming a dad for the first time with GB News and other press.
The 35-year-old dancer and his wife and fellow Strictly star Janette Manrara, 41, shared their motivations for documenting their journey with parenthood after the birth of their daughter Lyra in 2023 during a recent press event.
While promoting their short film, Dancing Through Change, the couple told the People’s Channel and other media outlets about the ups and downs of juggling being a parent with their illustrious careers.
The conversation led Škorjanec to recall some words of wisdom given by his own dad about embracing fatherhood amid the relentless passage of time.
He explained: “I remember… My dad is a very successful man in his own life, and just be before Lyra was born, you ask your parents for advice.
“And he said, ‘If I could change anything, if I could go back, I would just spend more time with you when you were little’.
“‘Because, to me, the career, and to most people, money is so important, but careers come and go’.
“‘Money comes and goes, but time doesn’t. And you were only that little once, when you were a baby, when you were starting to walk’.
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“‘And I missed all that because I was trying to provide, making sure that you were comfortable, but you will be comfortable anyway’.
“‘But I wasn’t there for it,’ and so I took that advice, and that was kind of what started the whole picture.”
The Slovenian choreographer also expressed how much he’d wanted to be a father, joking: “Yeah, as soon as it was legal for me to!”
Reflecting on his marriage to Manrara, he admitted: “As soon as we met – the first date, I said [I wanted to be a dad]. And after 12 years of begging, then we got there.”
He continued: “But no, I always wanted to be one, because I was lucky enough to grow up in a beautiful family environment in Slovenia, and I was so lucky and blessed.”
Škorjanec’s father’s words clearly struck a chord with the dancer, who decided to fully commit to his fatherly responsibilities, stepping aside from Strictly Come Dancing to be there for all of Lyra’s milestone moments.
“And I always knew that I have loved to be a dad, but equally, I knew that when I become a dad, that’s all I want to do,” he enthused.
Highlighting some of the reactions to his decision, he continued: “And every single person that I’m close to was thinking I’m crazy leaving Strictly or changing that completely – but to me, it was incredible, because I knew that with the schedule that you get every summer, being on the show, it was impossible for me to be a hands-on dad, which is what I wanted to do.
“I completely put that aside. And little did I know back then, that saying no to that, I’m going to be the only one that ever gets to come back to it! It’s the best of both worlds.”
Škorjanec took a hiatus from the show from the 2021 series until last year’s 2024 show, but fans were glad to see him back.
His comeback was a successful one, with the new father managing to make it to the final alongside Tasha Ghouri.
Manara, meanwhile, hasn’t competed in the show as a dancer since 2020, but has hosted the programme’s spin-off chat show, It Takes Two, since 2021.
