‘I’m not going anywhere...’

He’s synonymous with Strictly Come Dancing, as one of the professionals on the show since its inception in 2004. So it’s unsurprising there is a low rumbling of speculation that Anton might be finally ready to hang up his Strictly dancing shoes, but he brushes it off swiftly.

He said: “Everybody knows I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere. I completely know I’m going to stay. Whether they want me to stay or not is a completely different matter. But I’ll turn up anyway.”

Having never won the coveted glitterball trophy, the closest he has got was third place in the very first series with opera singer Lesley Garrett.

But 15 series on, he admits that he and his fellow dancers who were there for the inaugural series – including partner Erin – never thought beyond that first outing. He said: “We were competing in China and then we got the nod that Strictly was going ahead.

“When we got back from China, we did another competition the following week in Sweden and that was it. We were into Strictly.

“We hoped it would be a lot of fun. For me, it was an incredible thing to be able to do, I wanted to be in it and be part of it, and of course, I wanted to work with Bruce Forsyth, who was my hero.” Despite his experience, he admits worrying about forgetting his steps. “It’s not really nerves, it’s apprehension,” he said. “And I don’t know where that’s come from, because I never forget the routine. I never have.

“I mean, the unforgivable sin for a professional dancer would be a mistake in the routine. It is beyond sacrilege.”

Of being back on the road and stage with Erin, he said: “This will be our 10th tour so we really hope everyone will be able to join us in celebrating a decade of dance.”