ANTON COUNTS Onhis DOWN TO NEW STRICTLY marks..
ANTON Du Beke is the Peter Pan of Strictly Come Dancing. At 55, he’s more than 30 year older than some of the new professional dancers who are joining the BBC series this year.
And while glitter, sequins and Lycra help, the longest-serving dancerturned judge has his own advice on how to make sure that when it comes to looks the paddle board always gives him a 10.
He said: “I stay out of the sun, don’t smoke, don’t drink, eat well, moisturise regularly.” Anton’s hair has always been a talking point and he revealed he may go for a second transplant next year.. as well as a bit of Botox.
He said: “I had a hair transplant four years ago when I was going thin on top. I might have another next year, and a bit of Botox in my forehead. It was a massive deal to let my hair go grey last year. I had dyed it since I was 18.
“Last year after lockdown, I realised I looked like a Lego man, as if someone had just popped something on my head. Hannah and the Strictly make-up crew said it would look better grey, and they were right.”
Anton was 38 when he joined the original series in 2004. He is the longest serving dancer but is probably more famous for always being stuck with duds as partners.
After a good start coming third in series one with Lesley Garrett – he has had to make do with the likes of Gillian Taylforth, Jerry Hall, Susannah Constantine, Jacqui Smith, who was the first to be eliminated last year and, of course, in 2010, Ann Widdecombe. Despite the judges describing her as a “dancing hippo”, “a Dalek in drag” and “the Ark Royal”, she managed to survive until the quarter finals – thanks mostly to Anton’s cheery perseverance.
Despite his long service with Strictly, Anton has never won – the best spot was second equal in 2019 with actress Emma Barton, who unlike most of Anton’s celeb partners was a almost a baby being in her early 40s.
Now he may never win because, finally, Anton is stepping up and will be a judge when the show returns this Saturday. Covid compliance means Bruno Tonioli can’t work on both Strictly and the American version, Dancing with the Stars.
Bruno has decided to stay stateside so Anton will join the panel alongside Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood
and Motsi Mabuse to mark celebs including Greg Wise and Bake Off’s John Whaite, who will compete in the show’s first all-male couple.
Anton missed out on replacing Len Goodman as a judge when he left but he enjoyed a two-week stint in 2020 filling in for Motsi when she had to isolate in Germany.
Of his foray into judging, he said: “If I had a Strictly paddle to score my performance – seven, maybe? It’s like dance. The better you do it, the easier it looks.”
While dancing is harder than judging – Anton claimed being critical of the dancers is still tough. He said: “The difficulty is delivering everything you want to say in 15 or 20 seconds. When you’re on the receiving end, it feels like the judges have a lifetime to tell you all the things you already know went wrong, but it’s different from the other side of the desk.”
Anton, who became an older dad in 2017 with the birth of his twins George and Henrietta, won’t be drawn about whether he hopes the judge’s role will be permanent or whether he will have to give it up if Bruno returns in 2022.
But he admitted: “The important thing is just being on the show, because I love it. I’d be absolutely mortified if I had to leave. Bereft. I hope they never decide to get rid of me.”
Read the full chat with Anton in this week’s Radio Times, out now. Strictly returns to BBC1, Saturday 7.45pm.
I love it... I just hope they never decide to get rid of me ANTON On WanTinG TO sTaY On sTriCTLY