Blue Planet star shares extraordinary bond with sharks that DANCE for her mirror.co.uk

Cristina Zenato sits on the ocean floor with 8ft sharks nestling into her knees, soothing them into a trance. For many people it is the stuff of nightmares, but these sharks are just as dear to her as her pet dog Blue. Her interaction with the creatures was one of the most extraordinary moments of the first episode of Blue Planet Live. And here Cristina, known as the “Shark Dancer”, reveals the full extent of the extraordinary bond she shares with them. The conservationist, 47, has dived with some of the world’s most dangerous fish for 25 years, sometimes kissing them and even putting her hands into their mouths to take out fishing hooks lodged there. And while she treasures every interaction, her first experience with them is one she will never forget.“The first time I put a shark to sleep was my second dive with them,” she says. “This big female swam straight into my lap.