Tonbridge-born ballroom dancer Anton Du Beke – on Pointless Celebrities this weekend (July 12) – will celebrate his 59th birthday in July.
This year also marks 21 years since he became a judge on the BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing.
He and his wife Hannah had twins in 2017, after a gruelling IVF journey.
Anton was previously in a relationship with a woman called Vanessa, who, he said, dumped him and then started dating one of his mates. Ouch…
But perhaps his most heartbreaking experience – his words, not ours – was when Liverpool FC lost in the FA Cup when he was just a little boy.
Dancer and presenter Anton Du Beke on ‘worst childhood memory’
Many moons ago, when Anton Du Beke was a young boy, he used to play football all the time.
He supported Liverpool and, one year, they made the FA Cup final. Since there “wasn’t much else going on”, Anton said, he had a lot of time and energy to devote to fandom. But that year, to his chagrin, Liverpool lost to Manchester United. And he cried.
“I’d never cried before over football,” Anton revealed, while recounting his worst childhood memories during an interview with the Telegraph. “That was heartbreaking.”
In a separate incident, he remembers going to the field one day to take part in a competition and finding it unplayable.
“I remember going to this football thing, a competition or something to play, and the ground was frozen and we couldn’t. I have to tell you, I was devastated,” he said.
It may have been the easiest answer to give in the moment. But Liverpool losing to Man City was certainly one of the better ‘worst’ experiences of his childhood, which was littered with abuse.
Strictly judge was stabbed by his father as a child
Anton previously spoke about his dad’s dependence on alcohol. He also revealed the toll it took on him and his family. And, once, it took a turn for the worse.
During an interview with Kate Garraway on the show Life Stories in 2023, he revealed that he spent three days in hospital after his dad injured him with a knife.
“I got stabbed. I’ve never said this out loud before,” he said, his voice faltering. He recalled “the alcoholism and the violence”, and said it was directed towards him “because I was a boy”.
“You’ve got an alcoholic father and a situation where if you’re in the house [he’s] drinking. Then you end up with the fights and stuff. You’d move rooms to get away from all of it. And then he follows you in and the next thing you know the violence starts. Then it came to a head one evening.”
It was Boxing Day when he sustained the injuries to his leg and stomach.
“I remember walking out of the house to walk up to the hospital holding my leg and a police car drove past and I waved them down and I said: ‘He’s in there with a knife.’ Anyway, they carted him off. My only concern was getting back into the studio and dancing and the embarrassment of it.”
Antal Beke’s death
Anton told his friends that he had pulled a hamstring in order to explain the injury. His dad was cleared in court of wounding his son, and Anton chose not to go to his funeral. Antal Beke died in 2001.
“Everything was about moving forwards. I felt sorry for my mum – this was her husband, she’s working two jobs and he chose to drink and be violent. It’s just life and you carry on,” he said.
Catch Anton on Pointless Celebrities today (July 12) at 7.20pm on BBC One.
Read more: Anton Du Beke claims Sir Bruce Forsyth would be ‘furious’ over his final resting place
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