Judge and former professional dancer welcomes welfare measures introduced following celebrities’ claims
Strictly Come Dancing contestants may become more confident with chaperones in the room, Anton Du Beke has said.
The BBC announced it would introduce new welfare measures, including a member of the production team being present “at all times” during rehearsals, in the wake of bullying allegations.
Amanda Abbington, the actress, was among the celebrities making complaints, levelling accusations against her 2023 partner Giovanni Pernice, which the professional dancer denies.
Du Beke, who is now a Strictly judge after many years as a professional on the show, said of the chaperones: “I don’t think anyone’s going to notice them in the room, to be honest with you.
“Once you get involved, and once you get started and you get going with your partner, you just crack on. Often I’ve had with my partners in the past, you get the routine together, and you want people in the room, in actual fact, so you can perform for them, and it helps with the nerves for your partner and the performance.
“It’s okay (doing) it in the studio on your own, then suddenly you do it in the studio... with hundreds of people in the room, and then millions of people watching, (this is) such a leap.
“So I’ve always, over the years, got people into the room, if we were in somewhere like a gym … get people coming into the room, (and say) ‘So come and watch this, come watch this.’ I think it might help with the confidence a bit.”
The BBC has been investigating the allegations, with a report on its findings yet to be released.
Du Beke spoke as he prepared for the launch on Thursday of the latest novel in his Buckingham series, A Dance For The King.
In it, his character, Raymond de Guise, returns from war and is reunited with his wife Nancy before dancing at the Royal Albert Hall in front of the monarch.
Speaking in front of the venue, he said: “Raymond’s been asked to perform for the king as the guest of honour, and it just sort of felt very personal, actually, this part of the storyline, having danced at the Albert Hall, loving dancing at the Albert Hall, and having danced in front of royalty, but never having danced for a king, personally.
“The king was such a huge part of that time during the Second World War, and of course, we have a new king now, so I thought it would be fitting to set it in that sort of context.”
When asked if he drew inspiration from his own life, Du Beke said that you get a “special feeling” when you dance for a member of the Royal family.
Dancing for royals ‘is pinnacle’
“It does elevate it,” he added. “It does make it more special. It seems like the pinnacle that... you do as an artist.”
Aasked about the US version of Strictly, Dancing With The Stars, which the late Len Goodman judged, Du Beke said he felt it had a “different feel” to the BBC version.
Du Beke says: “It’s sort of a bit more afternoony, actually, isn’t it? There’s lounge suits, not dinner suits.”
He added that he thinks the issue is it being aired midweek, rather than at the weekend like Strictly as sport dominates on Saturday night in the US.”
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