Anton Du Beke says his rude joke about Len Goodman cut from Strictly's tribute

02 October 2023 , 20:37

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Anton Du Beke says his rude joke about Len Goodman cut from Strictly's tribute

Anton Du Beke made it a fabulously family affair at a gala performance of his An Evening With... show. The Strictly judge, 57, was joined at the afterparty by wife of six years Hannah Summers and their six-year-old twins George and Henrietta.

Of the many Strictly revelations to come out at the London Palladium, one will put a spring in pro dancer Nadiya Bychkova’s step. Anton told the audience: "Don’t tell the others but she is my personal favourite to dance with. The other professionals will be terribly, terribly upset."

Nadiya, 34, was a star guest on the night, while judge Shirley Ballas was an interested onlooker among many famous faces. Especially so when Anton revealed a rude joke he made about Len Goodman had been cut from a video tribute to the late Strictly star.

The Strictly Come Dancing judge with his family on Sunday (PA)

Anton added: "He was a wonderful, wonderful man and I knew him for many, many years, and I absolutely loved him." It comes after Du Beke admits his hopes were not high for this year’s line-up after their debut turn on last week’s launch show.

He said he felt they all had a mountain to climb in rehearsals for tonight’s first live episode after failing to set the ballroom alight during their curtain-raising group dance. And asked if anyone caught his eye in the routine, he jokes: "On the launch show I thought they were all a bit... I was quite pleased they came down the stairs unaided.

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"Once they did that, I was delighted. There were no nasty incidents and then we take it from there really." But in typical style as Strictly’s resident Mr Nice Guy, Anton is quick to point out it is all about perspective.

He adds: "It’s funny because you don’t get to see much in the first dance and also as a judge I’m on the side. I did think, ‘Heavens above, they’re not very good’. But I watched it at home as well – we had a Strictly night – and so I saw it from the front, and I thought it wasn’t too bad. So angles have a lot to do with it – we should be telling people to be careful of their angles."

The 21st series of the BBC hit launched last week with actors Layton Williams, Nigel Harman, Ellie Leach, Amanda Abbington, Adam Thomas and Bobby Brazier, TV host Angela Scanlon, comic Les Dennis, radio presenters Eddie Kadi and Nikita Kanda, newsreaders Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Angela Rippon, ex-tennis pro Annabel Croft, Paralympic champion Jody Cundy and Love Islander Zara McDermott vying for the coveted glitterball trophy.

Anton says he doesn’t know if this year is going to be the best ever – but he “absolutely” thinks it’s already an exciting series. He says: "The great thing about the start of the show is you see the names printed beforehand and you go, ‘I like her, I don’t know him, I do know her’.

"We weigh them up – we all do it – and then they come out and we immediately fall in love with them. It’s really exciting and there’s a great energy in the room. It’s brilliant."

Tom Bryant