Anton: I’d need a tattoo to be a star dancer on Strictly
STRICTLY veteran Anton Du Beke says he was pushed to the back during group numbers because of his age – and because he doesn’t sport a tattoo.
The dancer, 55, is expected back for this year’s series as a judge rather than a contestant, after filling in for Bruno Tonioli last year.
Recalling his 18 years on the floor, Anton said: “As the years went on they started to do ensemble numbers then they got choreographers in and we started wearing shorts and trainers and wafty tops.
“My personal favourite was a vest. In the early days I would be down the front. It would be nice.
“As the years go on the new dancers start arriving and choreographers, and the dancers who had been there from the beginning would have to go back a line...then suddenly you would go back another line.
“Then they started putting you in the corners and then the tattoos started arriving and everyone with tattoos was down the front wearing a vest.
“It got to the point where I was so far back at the end I was chatting with Lance in the orchestra.
“It was like, ‘Hello Lance, are you all right? Are you singing this one?’ and I would say, ‘I am not even in it.’ I did not mind not doing the group dances in the end.”
Anton, who is married with fiveyear-old twins, then joked that he would get a tattoo for the next series.
In his new stage show he said: “It seems like everybody is tattooed these days. If you want to come on to Strictly Come Dancing you’ve got to have a tattoo.
Rewarded
“I’m actually going to get a tattoo next year for Strictly.
“What happens if I end up having to dance with somebody again? I hope not but if I do I’m going to tattoo my routine on my chest and just hope they’re not short-sighted!”
There were reports earlier this month that Anton is set to be rewarded with a new contract as a judge. He ended up on the Strictly panel when Covid restrictions made it difficult for Bruno to fly between the UK and the US, where he is a judge on Dancing With The Stars.
Bruno, 66, previously joked that Anton “needed the money” from the show and admitted he was unsure about his own future on Strictly.
He said of Du Beke: “Good for him. He needs the money. If they want me, I’ll be back.
“But they may say, ‘Anton was great, we don’t need you.’”
Like Anton, Bruno has been on the show from the beginning in 2004.
For series 18 in 2020 Bruno appeared via video link then stepped aside for Anton last year.
●●An Audience With Anton Du Beke continues to tour throughout May.