Dancing at Notting Hill Carnival was ‘overwhelming’, says police officer who became internet sensation

Sebastian Mann30 August 2017

A dancing police officer whose moves at Notting Hill Carnival made him an internet sensation has told how he was left “overwhelmed” by the experience.

Pc Daniel Graham, famed for his show-stopping performances on Britain’s Got Talent, was filmed throwing shapes while manning the barriers at the huge street festival on Sunday.

The unlikely display delighted crowds and within 48 hours had been watched by hundreds of thousands of people online.

Speaking today, he compared the thrill of dancing for Carnival-goers to performing on the popular talent show, where he reached the semi-finals earlier this year.

He said: “It’s different knowing that you’re going on TV live. It’s a very different feeling to being in front of a huge crowd. But they’re definitely both overwhelming – you don’t want to make yourself look silly.”

Fame: Pc Daniel Graham says fellow officers have thanked him for showing police in 'a good light'
Daniel Graham

The 34-year-old, who was drafted in from Kingston for Carnival, said he had been told by commanders to “engage” with revellers at the event - but when it came to it he started dancing spontaneously.

“It was a spur of the moment thing. I was told to go and engage so I took it upon myself to do this,” he said.

He went on: “I was doing a little bit of footwork, very basic, and I think that drew attention to me. Then the MC said ‘is that police officer trying to dance’ and tried to get me to do more. I was reluctant at first but he persisted and then put on a track I liked.”

'Undercover raver': Dancing police officer Pc Daniel Graham
Twitter

The father-of-one, a police officer of seven years from Epsom, said colleagues congratulated him and thanked him for showing the Met in a “good light” after footage of his moves was posted on social media and shared thousands of times.

He said: “What’s happened with the video, the response has been fantastic, a very high percentage of positive responses.

“It’s not my mission, but it is something I want to do – to break down barriers and show that we’re one and the same with the public. We don’t want to oppose people in general in the community. We only want to get criminals.”

But the dose of fame comes at a cost. According to Pc Graham he now gets stopped in the street by fans almost every time he goes out in uniform.

He said: “I’m often having selfies done. I had one prisoner once ask to take one with me so he could prove to his friends he’d met me. But I said no.”

However, some audiences are harder to please. Of his 11-year-old son Joshua, Pc Graham said: “He laughs it off. But he’s too cool to show that his dad might be cooler than him.”

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