Dan Walker took an apparent swipe at BBC Breakfast as he broke his silence over returning to his former employer on Monday. 

The presenter, 47, seemed to laugh at the suggestion, as he was asked by a fan on Instagram whether he would 'ever go back' to his former morning show.

During a Q&A, he replied with a picture of himself holding the Strictly glitterball trophy with former BBC colleague Sally Nugent.

Dan wrote: 'I miss my friends but... No,' followed by a laughing face emoji.

The journalist left BBC Breakfast in April 2022 after six years to join Channel 5 News which he is reportedly being paid £500,000 a year.

It comes after Dan revealed that he 'used to cry in the toilets' while presenting BBC Breakfast during his appearance on last weeks installment of This Morning.

Dan recalled that his early 3am starts was one of the difficulties of his job and made him struggle with bad sleep deprivation.

Speaking to This Morning hosts Josie Gibson and Dermot O'Leary on the ITV Daytime show, Dan shed light on the downside of waking up double early for work.

He said: 'When I used to do BBC Breakfast, you know what it's like. If that alarm goes off at three that's far too early, that's flight to Spain time isn't it.

'I get up now about 5.30am/ 5.45am, which is essentially a lie in and I feel great, I feel refreshed and I really enjoy the job I do.

'By Wednesday I was, like, full zombie mode. And also you get really emotional. By Wednesday I was like, end of the show, you are like, in the toilets just crying.

'Anything sets you off. Someone says something nice about your trousers and you are like [fake cries].

'Not everyday [he cried], but I think you just get a little bit emotional when you are sleep deprived.'

It comes as Dan has been 'completely exonerated' following the conclusion of a workplace probe into 'serious conduct allegations'.

The Channel 5 evening news presenter was at the centre of a multi-pronged investigation after a 'colleague working in the media' made a complaint last week.

Channel 5 bosses brought in investigators to carry out the probe which found there was a 'lack of evidence to support the allegations' against the former BBC presenter.

The father-of-three, who previously featured on Strictly Come Dancing, was understood to have been 'devastated and stunned' after being dragged into the probe.

An investigator told the Sun: 'There is a lack of evidence to support allegations.'

The investigation sent 'shockwaves' through Channel 5 as Dan is 'well-respected' in media circles, according to an industry source.

They said: 'This row has sent shockwaves round Channel 5 and ITN. Dan is a hugely popular figure and is really well-respected.

'He was devastated and totally stunned to be dragged into this. Dan knew about the complaint last year, but he was initially told all the claims related to events before he joined Channel 5.

'This really shocked him - and he just couldn't understand it.

'But he co-operated with the investigation and was totally open and transparent because he had nothing to hide - and was later relieved but not surprised to be totally exonerated.

'Everything was done by the book and they brought in an external team to ensure the probe's independence.'

A Channel 5 spokesman said: 'ITN commissioned an independent external expert to investigate these allegations but none were upheld.'

A spokesman for ITN said: 'We take such claims incredibly seriously. To ensure fairness and impartiality, we appointed an independent external consultant and they have concluded their investigation.

'Given our ongoing duty of care, we won't be commenting further.'