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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Brogan-Leigh Hurst

Strictly champ Natasha Kaplinsky rushed to hospital after being bitten by her dog

Strictly Come Dancing's first ever winner Natasha Kaplinsky ended up in hospital after being caught in the middle of a brutal dog fight.

The ITV newsreader, 49, lives in peaceful Sussex with 47 animals.

But she soon realised the dangers when trying to stop Dot, her Coton de Tulear, fighting with another dog, Tibetan Terrier Molly.

In the midst of it all, Natasha ended up being bitten by Dot.

She told Daily Mail: "I tried to separate them and Dot bit me by mistake."

Thankfully, it would seem Natasha is safe and sound after the hospital dash.

Natasha rose to fame after winning the Glitterball trophy with Brendan Cole 17 years ago.

Natasha Kaplinsky was caught in the middle of a brutal dog fight (Channel 5)

In October 2007, she was recruited to help relaunch Channel 5 - earning herself the biggest fee ever paid to a UK newsreader in the process.

However, after just three years hosting Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky, the journalist moved over to ITV News.

In her personal life, Natasha married her partner Justin Bower a year after her Strictly win with whom she shares two children.

The couple met on a blind date and instantly fell head-over-heels for each other.

She won the first series of Strictly with Brendan Cole (BBC)

In the past, she has compared her professional Strictly partner's dancing with husband Justin's.

"It's very different dancing with a drunken husband to a world class professional," she joked to Yahoo.

"So I do love dancing but it's never going to be the same. The opportunity to be literally whisked around a dance floor with one of the best dancers in the world is really quite magical and once that spell is broken I don't think it can be recreated."

She added: "So I love dancing, I find it a wonderful way to release tension and it's a great form of exercise, but I do not dance in the way that I used to sadly."

During her Strictly stint, both Natasha and Brendan were plagued by romance rumours, which then sparked the famous "Strictly Curse".

Natasha with husband Justin (Getty Images)
Natasha and Brendan in 2004 (PA)

Brendan had not long split up with his long-term girlfriend Camilla Dallerup during the series.

Speaking about the rumours during an interview with John Bishop, he said: "You can't hide chemistry. I didn't have an affair. Camilla chose to leave. Once you do something, after that it's not an affair."

Brendan and ex-girlfriend Camilla were together for eight years, and got engaged just before the first series of Strictly aired.

After their split, it's believed the pair remained friends and even danced together professionally a few times.

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