Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke's devastating confession about career

Edinburgh Live

a day ago

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Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has opened up about how he nearly hung up his dancing shoes before a golden opportunity presented itself on the hit BBC show.
Starting his dance journey relatively late, the 58 year old admitted he was a "lunatic" who was "obsessed" with succeeding and proving his worth.
He began competing with fellow professional dancer Erin Boag, and after their first encounter in 1997, they went on to clinch the 1998 and 1999 New Zealand Championships.
After turning professional three years later, they continued their winning streak. However, Anton confessed he would become "upset" when they didn't win or received negative feedback, sometimes leaving him feeling "depressed".
Looking back on a particularly tough time, he said: "I remember we did a competition, a big competition. We did the French Open in Paris and did really badly. I mean, so badly, in this competition and I was really depressed about the whole thing.", as reported by the Mirror, reports Wales Online.
(Image:for the NTA's)
"We weren't getting on very well. Everything was a struggle. We were penniless, you know, I earned £100 a week and spent £120."
Discussing his struggles on Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast, Anton added: "Everything was horrendous. Danced badly, not doing very well in competitions and that was everything to me."
He confessed to going through "an internal crisis" during which he contemplated quitting his career before eventually deciding to continue, saying: "[I remember] thinking to myself, 'I'm going to have to chuck this in because I'm wasting my life'."
The father-of-two quickly recognised he had no other calling, so he chose to carry on and invest greater energy into his work, according to Bristol Live.
As his celebrity grew, he was presented with the opportunity to become a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, which launched in 2004.
Following numerous years twirling across the dance floor with different famous partners, he earned a spot on the judging panel in 2021.
Together with judge Craig Revel Horwood, the duo represent the programme's most enduring personalities, sharing judging responsibilities with Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse.