Good times with… Anton Du Beke

Author and Strictly judge Anton lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife, Hannah, and their five-year-old twins, George and Henrietta.

I have a man crush on Tom Cruise

 The last great film you saw…

Top Gun: Maverick. I went to the premiere with Hannah and, it’s official, I have a man crush on Tom Cruise. I’ve always loved him, but now I’m putting it out there.

 The film you could watch over and over… Anything with Tom in it, or a Fred Astaire movie. The Band Wagon is one of my all-time favourite films – the fusion of Fred dancing with Cyd Charisse had a major influence on my dancing life.  The performance that made you

cry… A few of Rose Ayling-ellis’s performances on Strictly last year made me quite emotional. There was a vulnerability about her that transcended everything she did.

 The one that stayed with you…

Jodie Comer’s one-woman show, Prima Facie, was pretty epic. She was just astounding.

 The last boxset you binged on…

Hannah and I loved Murder In Provence. Nancy Carroll and Roger Allam are so believable as a couple. We also loved the adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s bestselling murder mystery Magpie Murders

– the premise is so clever.  The album you loved… I mostly listen to Spotify and my choice is quite eclectic. The recent list of songs includes Toxic by Britney Spears, My Way by Paul Anka, Reach by S Club 7, Waka Waka by Shakira, various tracks by Michael Bublé and Luciano Pavarotti…

 The last book you loved… I’ve listened to a lot of books on Audible recently – the Sean Dillon series by Jack Higgins is brilliantly written and I love Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. I enjoyed Brian Klein’s debut novel, The Counterfeit Candidate, enormously, too.

 The best recommendation you received… The West End production of Chicago starring Ruthie Henshall as Roxie Hart and Ute Lemper as Velma Kelly. I hadn’t seen anything like it and I was spellbound by the dancers.  The ticket you’d love to get your hands on… I’d love to take the kids to see Frozen The Musical.

 The Ballroom

Blitz (Orion) by Anton Du Beke is out 13 October