Strictly’s Anton
As Strictly’s Anton du Beke publishes his first novel, One Enchanted Evening, he tells Yours why he waited so long to become a father
Becoming a father brings a life change. But when that first-time dad is in his 50s and his wife gives birth to twins, the change must be massive – not to mention exhausting. For Anton du Beke, however, becoming the father of twins last year aged 51 is just what he always wanted.
“I’ll tell you why I never wanted children until I was older and why it was the right decision for me to wait,” he says. “I wanted to be 100 per cent sure that my children’s mother would be the woman with whom I would spend the rest of my life. As soon as I knew I would be with Hannah forever, I wanted to have children with her and, luckily, she felt the same.”
So how exactly has life changed for Anton since 18-month-old Henrietta and George arrived?
“Completely, but it’s the best change ever. Before the twins, I’d spend a lot of my spare time playing golf. But now I like to spend any time I do have with the babies and Hannah. I love every second of our family time – such as swimming together and having splash time. It’s my favourite thing. The twins are doing everything at the same time, although they have quite different personalities. George is immediate, while Henrietta considers things more. Having said that, as soon as she sees a mobile phone she wants it – and far more than any of her toys. I dance with them already. They love being twirled around the room.”
Wouldn’t we all love a twirl with Anton? But perhaps we can have the next best thing by reading his novel, One Enchanted Evening,
‘The twins are doing everything at the same time at the moment, although they have quite different personalities’
and imagining ourselves in the arms of the protagonist – ballroom virtuoso Raymond de Guise. But is he Anton in another guise – no pun intended?
“I don’t think I am Raymond. I rarely frequent the East End of London and I’ve never staged a break-in. There are some characteristics we do share. Raymond’s a terrific dancer and there’s something familiar about the way he murmurs, ‘Shall we?’ when he’s asking a lady to dance!”
Which he does – a lot.
“It’s 1936 and all the big hotels in London have grand ballrooms,” Anton goes on, setting the scene of One Enchanted Evening. “In the luxurious Buckingham Hotel, Raymond and his troupe of dancers rub shoulders with politicians, film stars and even royalty. Raymond is ambitious and charismatic, yet dark secrets seriously threaten his present and future.
“Meanwhile, there’s Nancy Nettleton, a new chambermaid at the Buckingham. She’s finding life a struggle after leaving her small home town. Watching the dancers on the ballroom floor, she dreams of becoming one of them but she soon discovers everyone at the Buckingham – guests and staff alike – has something to hide. Beneath the glitz and glamour of the ballroom are buried all manner of secrets and lies…”
Anton has written several books about dancing before, but One Enchanted Evening is his first novel. “It’s been an ambition of mine since boyhood to write a novel,” he reveals. “I’ve always loved good stories, but until now I’ve only ever told them through dance. I felt it was time to take these stories to the page. I loved writing the book and putting it together with the crack editorial team the publishers put in place for me. This was the way I wanted to work. I asked them to put into play a process which would enable me to work to the best of my ability and help me get out the story I wanted to tell. I was nervous
‘I love being part of a team and working in collaboration with others’
and it was a real challenge, but I feel it has worked well. I love being part of a team and working in collaboration with others.”
The novel has been published in the middle of the Strictly season and, even though he and his partner Susannah Constantine were the first couple to be eliminated this year, autumn is proving to be very busy for the show’s sole surviving original pro dancer. “Strictly is allconsuming,” Anton smiles. “It’s a super show, but it’s a lot of hard work. There’s so little time and even when we’re no longer competing we have to put the work in. There’s no lie-in on Sunday, for instance. Us Strictly professionals always start rehearsing our show dance for the following Saturday on Sunday morning.
“Before the twins, I would have had a round of golf too, but not now. These days I’m straight home to spend time with the family!”
■ One Enchanted Evening is published by Zaffre Publishing, rrp £18.99