‘It’s my best tour yet’

Is quickstepping his way across the UK

Anton Du Beke has teamed up with Olivier-winning choreographer Bill Deamer for his new UK tour which he says will be his “best yet”. Showman – An Evening With Anton Du Beke sees the Strictly Come Dan - cing judge dance a variety of styles including ballroom, tap and the Argentine tango.

The 57-year-old will also be joined by singer Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers at the string of shows.

Du Beke said: “I am always excited to be out on the road, but this tour is the best yet. It has everything I love: songs, dance, chat and laughter – it’s my idea of a perfect evening.”

The professional dancer described the show as a “complete extravaganza of song, dance and laughter” and added that it’s a “fusion of every type of dance you can think of”.

He added: “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and so to have it choreographed by the legendary Bill Deamer and to be performing it with my amazing company of dancers is just wonderful.

“And of course, the audience are able to ask me questions again during the Q&A segment – so fire away, my loves! This is your chance to ask me anything you’d like.”

Du Beke and Deamer first met more than 15 years ago when they both worked on a show at the London Palladium and then later came together again on Strictly.

However, this is the first time the pair have worked together on one of Du Beke’s tours.

“When he asked me this year, I said: ‘Let’s do it, but if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do musical theatre’,” Deamer recalled.

“The discipline that ballroom and Latin dancers have is really the same discipline as musical theatre dancers and when you put the two together… That’s when the magic happens.” The show travels throughout the

UK, including Bournemouth, Chester, Halifax, Nottingham, Reading, Swansea and Wimbledon.

Du Beke was the longest-serving professional dancer on Strictly, having been a fixture on the BBC1 series since it began in 2004, until he swapped the dancefloor for the judging panel to take over from Bruno Tonioli permanently in 2021.

This week Du Beke has also been back on our TVS, alongside Strictly Come Dancing colleague and best mate Giovanni Pernice in BBC show

Anton & Giovanni’s Adventures in Spain.

This week’s episode - which you can catch up with on iplayer - saw the pair head to Andalucia. In next week’s show they hit the road again as they head further north.

The show is on BBC1 on Monday, March 25 at 9pm.

Tickets for Showman – An Evening with Anton Du Beke, including Tunbridge Wells in November, can be booked at his website www.antontour.com

Anton in rehearsals for his UK tour and, left, with Giovanni Pernice in Spain for their new BBC1 show