Anton Du Beke comes to Woking

Anton Du Beke in Woking this December

Strictly star Anton Du Beke sails into Woking for some piratical panto. Jane McGowan casts off...

Anton Du Beke is a busy man. Following our chat, the self-styled ‘King of Ballroom’ will take the stage at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre on the current leg of his one-man show, An Evening With Anton Du Beke. His new novel, The Paris Affair, will be published in a few weeks. And then it’s back to Woking again to star as Smee in this year’s panto, Peter Pan. “Yes, it’s busy, but it’s good busy,” he laughs. It certainly is. And that’s before we factor in his role as one of the four judges on the BBC’s flagship Saturday night entertainment show, Strictly Come Dancing.

First broadcast in 2004, the affectionately termed Strictly has long since been a television phenomenon. A pioneer of the celebrity ‘have-a-go’ format, the concept has been sold around the globe, making stars of its professional dancers, contestants and judges.

“It’s the best show on TV,” says Anton proudly. “No, wait,” he corrects himself. “It’s the best show in the world!”

And he should know. He has, after all, been there from day one – first as a dancer, with such memorable partners as tennis guru Judy Murray and the former politician and ‘dance dis-as-ter’ Ann Widdecombe, and now as a judge, having replaced Bruno Tonioli in 2021.

“I loved being a dancer on the show,” reflects the 57-year-old father of two. “But now I really love being a judge. It’s wonderful to see the progress week after week.”

Born in 1966 in Sevenoaks, Kent, Anton is the oldest of three children and began dancing at the age of 14, when he turned up at the local Holton School of Dancing to collect his sister.

After leaving school two years later, he worked as a salesman by day while perfecting his ballroom moves by night. In 1997, he teamed up with his professional dance partner, the Strictly alumna Erin Boag. Since then, the pair have toured the world, with Woking as one of their favourite stops.

“It’s always a lovely audience here,” laughs Anton. “So I hope people will be back to watch the panto.” If they are, they will be witnessing something rare. While the dance veteran has been strutting his stuff for years in pursuit of the day job, Peter Pan is only his third theatrical outing.

“I have played Buttons in Cinderella and Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk, but that’s it. I’ve never played Smee. Luckily I am appearing with some absolutely gorgeous cast members with much more experience,” he says.

Ian Olsson Photography Ian Olsson

“I was talking to Paul Chuckle [who is playing pirate Starkey] at the press launch, and he said this is something like his 52nd pantomime. And then there’s Nigel [Ellacott], who plays our absolutely lovely dame: he’s done 50 years! So I’m in good hands. All I have to do now is learn my lines like a very good boy.” He may be a novice participant, but Anton did attend pantos as a child and now enjoys taking his own children, twins George and Henrietta, to the theatre to experience the magic. “I think going to see a pantomime is a wonderful thing to do with children. It’s so colourful and immersive, and my children have already been to one – we live near Windsor, so we went there, and they loved it. Panto is synonymous with Christmas. A bit like Strictly Come Dancing.”

However, with a four-week run in Woking over the festive period, Anton faces quite a bit of time away from the family this holiday season.

“Yes, we only get Christmas Day off as a cast,” he reveals.

“Everyone else will have one day off a week of their own, but I will be doing Strictly, so I won’t.”

And once his stint as Smee is complete, Anton will again don his judge’s mantle for the Strictly Come Dancing Live! Nationwide arena tour before resuming his An Evening With Anton Du Beke show in March. That’s followed by several dates with another of the BBC dance show favourites, Giovanni Pernice.

But with his wife, Hannah, and two young children at home, does Anton still love the touring life?

“I do, I do,” he says, with a degree of hesitancy. “I really, really enjoy being on stage – performing in big theatres is great – but it does involve being on the road. Sometimes you think: ‘Oh, I would rather stay at home with the children and not go out.’ But you know, once I am out there putting on a show, it’s what it’s all about and I love it.”

Catch Anton in Peter Pan at the New Victoria in Woking from Dec 8-Jan 7. Tickets from £13; visit: atgtickets.com