He had perhaps his most successful stint in 16 years on last year's Strictly Come Dancing, and Anton du Beke has responded to claims that he is stepping down from the show. Appearing on Monday's This Morning alongside fellow pros Gorka Marquez and Neil Jones, the 53-year-old, who joined the show when it began in 2004, was quizzed by Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about claims that he is to retire.
"The internet is rife with stuff [and] apparently you're retiring?" asked Phillip, to which the pro immediately replied: "No, no. I've got twins I'm never retiring!" He continued: "No I'm never retiring, absolutely not, I don't know where that comes from." Anton, who is affectionately known as the King of Ballroom, then went on to explain his hope that this year's ballroom competition could be the year he is lucky enough to lift the iconic glitterball trophy.
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Anton reached the final for the first time last year with actress Emma Barton
The father-of-two, who reached the final in 2019 alongside EastEnders actress Emma Barton, explained: "This year could be my year, although you know it took 17 years [sic] to get in the final, you know if it takes another 17 years I would have forgotten what to do. But yes, last year was the best of all years, I thought it was a remarkable year… and it goes from strength to strength."
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Joining Anton on the sofa was fellow dancer Gorka who expressed his hope at returning to the show later this year with a celebrity partner. "Yeah hopefully," he began, adding: "We just got told that we are back on the show so now we just need to wait to see the lineup and see what happens but hopefully we'll see." The pro, who's currently dating Gemma Atkinson and with whom he shares baby daughter Mia, continued: "I still was around last year doing the group numbers, seeing the guys dancing, actually it was very nice because I got to spend time at home with Mia and I got to see everyone dancing and see how hard they work."
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