Dan Walker was left stunned when he came face-to-face with double killer Charles Thompson, who was sentenced to death in 1998 for shooting his ex-girlfriend and her new lover
Dan Walker admitted one moment from his face-to-face with a Death Row killer left him spooked – and it concerned Strictly Come Dancing.
Dan journeyed to Texas for his Channel 5 investigation, Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row, where he met notorious Charles Thompson.
The TV presenter, who spent 13 years on BBC Breakfast and appeared on Strictly in 2021, admitted to having mixed feelings about Thompson after their interview, acknowledging the possibility of manipulation.
Thompson was convicted for the shooting of his ex-girlfriend Dennise Hayslip, 39, and her boyfriend Darrren Cain, 30, in 1998. He escaped prison in 2005 after being sentenced to death but was eventually recaptured and returned to jail.
During their meeting at The Allan B. Polunksy Unit in West Livingston, Texas, Thompson told Dan through a phone and screen: "It's nice to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you."
Taken aback, Dan questioned this, to which Thompson replied: "Yeah, your reputation precedes you sir."
When asked if this was a good thing, Thompson said: "It's a good thing. I've even heard about Dancing with the Stars (the US version of Strictly Come Dancing) from my mates in England."
Dan, caught off guard, remarked: "I didn't expect to turn up and for you to know all about me, Charles."
Thompson explained that he invariably did his "homework" and had been in contact with "excited" pen pals in England who provided him with information about Dan. Reflecting on this, Dan said he found it "a bit disconcerting that Charles knows all about me".
Thompson then aired his grievances about being largely kept in solitary confinement, revealing he is allowed merely four hours a week outside of his cell.
He voiced his dissatisfaction, saying: "I am sure people have pets that get out of their cage more than that."
The convicted man also pondered over the moment he turned to violence, describing it as a "crime of passion" and "two men fighting over a woman".
Thompson expressed remorse, saying: "It was the worst day of my life," he lamented. "I regret it. I wish I could take it back. When this case happened 27 years ago, I was 27, almost 28, I was an alcoholic, I was strung out on cocaine, using hard drugs. I was still very immature for 27. I had a lot of anger issues and I was wild; I was out of control."
By taking the life of his former partner, Dennise, she tragically left behind her sole child, Wade, who was 13 years old at the time.
When contemplating what he would say to her now, Thompson told Dan: "I hope that she can forgive me for what happened - and I will see her again. And I like to believe that I have the chance at going to heaven too.
"I feel for the families, I feel for her son, I asked him to forgive me and he said he thinks the jury got the sentence right and he is waiting for it to be carried out so I had no choice but to accept that and some people can never move past it."
"And that's all I wanted for him - for him to be able to move past this. The biggest false thing that the criminal justice system sells people is that the death penalty will bring closure - it doesn't."
The investigation was sparked by calls in the UK to reinstate the death penalty following Axel Rudakubana's 52-year sentence for the murder of three girls in Southport.
Dan travelled to Texas, the US state with the highest number of executions, to delve deeper into the issue. He visited Huntsville, the country's busiest death chamber, where he met with death row inmates.
The last execution in the UK took place in 1964, whereas over 1600 people have been executed in the US since then. After speaking with a death row inmate for the first time, Dan shared his thoughts: "He is gone. Back to solitary. That wasn't what I expected it to be."
He later reflected: "It is hard not to feel conflicted after meeting Charles. There is part of me that warmed to him. Is he truly sorry for his crime? It is also hard not to wonder if I was being manipulated by him."
Seeking to understand better, he visited the victim's son, Wade, and inquired if his mother's killer grasped the enormity of his actions and their impact.
Wade, who gave evidence in court at the tender age of 14, answered: "I don't know. I don't get the impression that he did, or does."
Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row will air on Channel 5 on May 7 from 9pm - 10.30pm
