Cliff Notes – Anton Du Beke hails late Strictly star as ‘hero’ 8 years after death
- Anton Du Beke has described former Strictly Come Dancing host Sir Bruce Forsyth as a ‘hero’, praising his generosity and talent during their nine years working together.
- Du Beke revealed that meeting Forsyth exceeded his expectations, stating he was everything he had hoped for in a TV idol.
- The Strictly judge credited Forsyth as the primary reason he joined the show, reminiscing about memorable moments they shared, including a song-and-dance performance.
Anton Du Beke hails late Strictly star as ‘hero’ 8 years after death
A former Strictly legend is a hero to Anton Du Beke (Picture: Rob Parfitt/BBC/PA Wire)
Anton Du Beke has hailed a late Strictly Come Dancing legend as a ‘hero,’ saying that working with them was everything he’d ever wanted.
The ballroom dancer and Strictly judge, 58, has been with the dancing reality competition since the very beginning, starting as part of the pro line-up.
After the departure of Bruno Tonioli in 2022, Anton stepped off the floor and up to the table as the replacement judge. He’s sat to the left of head judge Shirley Ballas ever since.
But despite only taking his place on the judging panel three years ago, he’s one of just three remaining names — as well as judge Craig Revel Horwood and host Tess — to have been with Strictly since the very start.
Anton has paid tribute this week to the man who introduced Strictly to the country, former host Sir Bruce Forsyth, who hosted the dancing competition for its first nine years.
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Sir Bruce left the show in 2013, four years before his death aged 89, after a long and esteemed career of hosting primetime TV on Saturday nights.
Sir Bruce Forsyth was a ‘hero’ to Anton during their years as colleagues (Picture: Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images)
Speaking about Sir Bruce, Anton has hailed him as a ‘hero’, saying that finally getting to meet one of his TV idols was everything he could have wished for.
He told The Telegraph: ‘[My favourite celebrity encounter] has always been Sir Bruce Forsyth. Meeting Sir Bruce. He’s my hero, to be honest with you. He was such a brilliant entertainer, and he was everything I wished and wanted him to be.
‘They say never meet your heroes, but that has never been further from the truth for me. He was absolutely incredible. Generous, kind, funny, helpful… Just the most incredible man, really.’
‘Sir Bruce was absolutely incredible. Generous, kind, funny, helpful.’ (Picture: Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Anton and Sir Bruce worked together for nine years, even sharing the floor on a few occasions, with the Strictly judge looking back fondly on those too.
‘My [best memory from Strictly] is doing a song-and-dance number with Brucey. We did Me and My Shadow years ago on Strictly Come Dancing, and that was the career highlight.’
Earlier this year, Anton told Metro that Sir Bruce was the reason he signed up to Strictly in the first place, also admitting that he could have become a golfer instead.
The pair were on Strictly together for nine years (Picture: David Cannon/Getty Images)
Anton says ‘Brucey was the number one entertainer’ (Picture: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
‘Bruce was the real hook for me,’ he said in February. ‘We got chatting and he invited me and Len [Goodman], who was a wonderful man, to come to his house.’
Len Goodman died in 2023, aged 78, having been a judge on Strictly from the very beginning and only leaving the show in 2016 — three years after Sir Bruce’s departure.
‘[Me and Len were] a bit giddy, to be honest with you. It was the most wonderful day. I couldn’t believe it. We sort of pinched ourselves a little bit. And I was fortunate enough to become firm friends with Brucey for many years.’
He continued: ‘Brucey was the number one entertainer. I always felt that if he was in America, he’d have probably been even more famous.
‘He was the most famous person in this country, but he’d have been a global sensation.’