Anton Du Beke paid tribute to the late Sir Bruce Forsyth on Morning Live today (November 13), as his interview on the show turned emotional.
The former Strictly Come Dancing pro-turned-judge discussed the showbiz legend on Morning Live, where he spoke to hosts Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh.
Strictly star Anton Du Beke has been on the show since the start
Appearing on the BBC daytime show, Anton spoke to hosts Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh about the current series of Strictly. The dancing competition has just passed its halfway point, after Harry Aikines-Aryeetey became the sixth casualty of the ballroom.
Anton, 59, then went on to reflect on his many years on the show. He has been on every series of Strictly since it began in 2004, spending 15 years as a professional before joining the judging panel in 2021.
This means he shared the stage with the show’s iconic original host, Sir Bruce Forsyth, for many years. Bruce co-hosted alongside Tess Daly from 2004 to 2013, when he was replaced by Claudia Winkleman. He sadly passed away in August 2017 at the age of 89.
‘The man to look up to’
Anton has never hidden his love for Sir Bruce, or his desire to emulate his career.
“I had the best teacher of all, I had the great Sir Bruce Forsyth as the man to look up to,” Anton said of working with the national treasure.
“He’s always been a hero of mine. One of the things about doing Strictly Come Dancing for me was being able to work with Brucie. That was the real thing for me. He’s been my hero for forever. I just love that style of entertainment, that old-school variety, standing in front of an audience, having this with the audience.”
Anton then added: “It’s the fun of it all really. It’s the joy of it all for me, and Brucie was the King of that. He used to be next to the audience – that’s why they had them so close, so he could be doing that: ‘Alright, my love.’
“He was just the best,” Anton concluded.
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