Anton du Beke was raised in Sevenoaks, Kent, England with his Spanish mother, Hungarian father, and his brother and sister. He started dancing at 14, which caused him to study contemporary, jazz, ballet and modern theatre dance, as well as being a junior boxer and county footballer.

Anton had a lot of catching up though, as by 14 most people were already experienced competitors on the junior circuit.

At 17, Anton specialised in Ballroom, favouring the Foxtrot over other techniques, much like his role model Fred Astaire.

In 1997, Anton met Erin Boag, then within a year the duo had captured the New Zealand Championship – a feat they repeated the following year.

Anton du Beke has been part of the Strictly team since first series, being partnered with the likes of Laila Rouass, Patsy Palmer, Jan Ravens, Jerry Hall, Judy Murray and Gillian Taylforth throughout the years.

Anton is best known for his more comedic pairings with: lawyer Nancy Dell'Olio and former MP Ann Widdecombe are the stuff of Strictly legend. In fact, Ann and Anton even made it all the way to the Quarter Final in 2010, despite scoring consistently low marks throughout the series!

But 2015 was a different story, with Anton finally within reach of the Glitterball trophy. An inspired pairing with Proms and Radio 3 presenter Katie Derham saw him dance his way to the Grand Final and nab fourth place.

In 2019 saw Anton make it to the Grand Final again thanks to a fantastic partnership with EastEnders stars Emma Barton.

He has judged Strictly Come Dancing since 2021 the most recent judge to join the series and has settled into his new role with ease.

His experience of dancing with competitors of all levels gives him valuable insight into the challenges they face.