28 October 2023 , 18:00
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Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton du Beke has opened up about the "painful" hair transplant that changed his life.
The 57-year old first underwent the procedure in 2018 after his hair loss was "all he could see" in the mirror. Ballroom expert Anton discussed his quest for a fuller head of hair during an appearance on Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch. He admitted to host Steph McGovern: "I started to lose my hair a few years ago… Every time I looked in the mirror it’s all I could see. It is a painful procedure... it doesn’t hurt as much as looking into the mirror and seeing your hairline disappearing."
Anton, who has appeared on Strictly either as a dancer or a judge in every series since its 2004 inception, said his receding hairline affected his self-esteem. Asked by Steph, 41, if it knocked his confidence, Anton responded: "It does in certain aspects, not as a performer.. in normal life."
Anton said his receding hairline was 'all he could see' in the mirror prior to his treatment (PA)He continued: "You’re either ok with it or you’re not ok with it so if you know you’re not ok with it then, for me, it was a case of do something about it. I had a period of time when I tried to do all my photos in profile… It’s sort of always on your mind. It starts to consume you."
Anton said his decision to undergo the treatment came about after a golfing session with his actor pal, James Nesbitt. Cold Feet star James is also known to have had hair transplants, which led Anton to use "his guy". Anton enthused: "It immediately transformed my life. All of that stuff that was going on went away."
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He told Steph: "I owned it, I would talk about it... I had no interest in pretending. I wanted to go 'look, I’ve had a bit of crop rotation, I’ve ripped a bit from the back and shoved it on the front.'"
The Strictly star is happy with his hair nowAnton also detailed on the show his first meeting with his wife, Hannah Summers - with whom he now shares twin. The TV star said met at a dinner party and he was instantly smitten, so he decided to follow her to the toilet for a chance to speak to her alone. "I knew almost immediately that I loved her," he swooned. "She also loved me immediately but I was holding a bottle of wine."
"I saw her across the table there and I thought, wow she is absolutely outrageous," he added. Anton then admitted his surprise that Hannah actually spoke to him after following her - let alone that she actually shared his feelings. Anton said that allthough the exchange made him "look a bit weird", he told her he loved her there and then.
He recalled: "She came out she looked at me and went, 'Have you been waiting outside the ladies' for me?' And I went 'Yes, it's because I love you.'"