Anton Du Beke has said he never saw his father again after his dad stabbed him on Boxing Day.
The 60-year-old Strictly Come Dancing judge discussed the attack in an interview with The Times.
The dancer has also rejected suggestions that his father’s behaviour explains why he does not drink.
Anton Du Beke recalls dad’s Boxing Day attack
Anton said he was in his mid-twenties and on the phone to his dance teacher when the attack happened.
According to his account, he suffered wounds to his leg and stomach. He managed to get outside and flag down a passing police car.
He recalled spending four days in hospital afterwards. He described feeling embarrassed about the incident and told people he had torn a hamstring.
Recalling the aftermath, he said: “The police carted him off, [but] after [the stabbing] I never laid eyes on him again.”
Anton said he did not know whether his father had been charged.
He later learned of his father’s death in 2001 through a telephone call. Anton said the news had little emotional impact, and he left a note to tell his mother.
Anton Du Beke says his past does not define him
Anton grew up in Sevenoaks, Kent, with his Spanish mother, Ascension, and Hungarian father, Antal. He has described his father as a violent alcoholic.
However, he said people should not assume that explains his own decision to avoid alcohol.
“I don’t want people to think it defines me, but everybody’s an armchair psychologist,” Anton explained.
He recalled trying alcohol at 17 and becoming ill after two pints of beer. His reasons for not drinking included his low tolerance and the cost, he explained.
Anton said he would prefer to spend that money on dancing lessons.
He also said therapy had not been for him, while acknowledging that it could help others.
Discussing how he approaches his past now, Anton said: “It was then, not now. I’m a 60-year-old man with two children. Why am I bothered about all of that? I can’t be. I have to move on.”
His interview comes as he prepares to release Steps in Time: The Moments that Made Me on November 5.
Read more: Strictly fans concerned as they predict Anton Du Beke next in firing line to be ‘axed’
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