I’m a busy mum who relies on the NHS so I’m backing Who Cares Wins, says Strictly’s Nadiya Bychkova
SHE is a Strictly star and glamorous pin-up, but behind the sequins and fake tan Nadiya Bychkova is also a dedicated mum — who relies on the NHS to support her family.
It is why the dancer is backing our Who Cares Wins awards — which is just over a month away.
Nadiya, 33, says: “The Sun’s awards are a beautiful thing and it gives the NHS a little recognition.
“It gives our health heroes the feeling that, yes, people do recognise what they do, how important their work is.
“So many of us wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them because they are the foundation. Without our health there is not much we can do.”
Nominations for our annual celebration of health heroes are now closed, and our panel of judges — which includes boxer Anthony Joshua, Loose Women star Christine Lampard and swimmer Ellie Simmonds — are hard at work deciding which of the inspiring stories deserve to be winners.
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Nadiya wishes all hardworking health professionals and volunteers could be recognised.
The Ukrainian-born dancer revealed how NHS medics went above and beyond to tend to her daughter Mila, now seven, despite not speaking her family’s native language.
She explains: “When I’m working, my mum, Larysa, is with Mila.
One day Mila wasn’t feeling well and my mum had to take her to the doctor.
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They found a way to explain to my mum what to do, told her everything was fine.
“These are only little things but the way they care about people is very impressive. These people dedicate their lives to this.
"And even though there is a language barrier, everything always works out.”
This year’s event will be extra special as it will celebrate the 75th birthday of the NHS, which was founded on July 5, 1948.
Nadiya was particularly moved by the heroic efforts of one of last year’s winners, a team of NHS doctors and nurses who organised an extraordinary mission to rescue a group of sick children from war-torn Ukraine.
The medics from South- ampton Children’s Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital evacuated 21 Ukrainian youngsters suffering from cancer and brought them to the UK for treatment, which earned them the Best Team gong on the night.
Nadiya says: “It touched me because I am so close to Ukraine and Ukrainian people.
“It is amazing what the NHS did in this situation.
"As a mum, it makes it even more emotional as you would do anything for your children.”
Family is hugely important to Nadiya and in June she met up with her dad in Dubai, the first time she had seen him in seven years, sharing snaps of the emotional reunion online.
It has been difficult for her father and grandmother to travel from Ukraine because of the situation there.
Nadiya is originally from Luhansk, in the Donbas region, which was also hit by a previous conflict with Russia in 2014.
She says of meeting her dad: “It was one of the best weeks of my life.
“It was very special because I wasn’t able to see my father for seven years.
"I did everything to try and make that little reunion to bring my family together.
“It was so stressful before we went because things were happening in Ukraine.
“But the whole week was like a fairytale. Now we’ve done it, we will always have that.”
Nadiya recently completed a 36-date nationwide dance tour, Once Upon A Time, with partner Kai Widdrington, 27, also a Strictly professional.
The couple fell in love after meeting on the hit BBC show, which Kai joined in 2021.
She says: “The tour with Kai was one of the most special things I did in my career because it was something I wanted for years, before I was even on Strictly.
“I was always interested in creating my own show, bringing different styles of dancing together.
"For the first time I was able to share a little bit of my story.”
The couple have also fronted a campaign for Dune footwear, bringing together her love of fashion, dancing and shoes.
And she is also in a new Freemans clothing TV commercial with fellow Strictly stars Janette Manrara and Flavia Cacace.
But for the next few weeks, before Strictly rehearsals start, Nadiya’s main focus is enjoying being a mum to Mila, who she shares with her ex-fiancé, Slovenian footballer Matija Škarabot, who she split from in early 2021.
She says: “I’m just loving taking Mila to school and picking her up, doing normal things.
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“Trust me, it doesn’t feel like I’m doing nothing being a mum! You are so busy and tired.
"At 8pm in the evening I’m exhausted, but it is the best feeling ever.”
