Anton Du Beke has insisted the current conversation around Strictly Come Dancing is not something he’s paying much mind.
Back in September, Anton returned for his sixth full season as a Strictly judge, having previously been part of its resident troupe of professional dancers since it premiered in 2004.
It’s fair to say that the current season of the long-running BBC dance show got off to a bit of a bumpy start, with lukewarm reviews for its new presenting trio and reports of falling viewing figures.
However, asked by The Times if the flagship BBC show was “in trouble”, Anton was quick to maintain that people shouldn’t count Strictly out.
“I never worry about all that,” he responded, with The Times’ reporter claiming he was “looking bored” at the suggestion. “I’ve seen it all before. All before.”
He added: “The viewing figures aren’t what they were because [TV is] all different now. The key is the viewer percentage of whoever’s watching the television at that moment.
“There’s no point saying, ‘We don’t get 12 million viewers like we used to,’ if only five million are watching television anyway.”
Pointing out Strictly’s recent 58% share, he noted: “Nobody else is getting more than 30% of the share. Well, maybe Traitors.
“But still, every year over 50% of the [viewing public] are watching.”
BBC/Ray Burmiston/BBC Creative
Anton has also hit back at the suggestion that this year’s dancing is of a lower calibre (“I’m watching thinking, ‘This is great’”) and the quality of the line-up is subpar (“people say we don’t know who the contestants are. It’s such an odd thing to say”), while also stating that the new presenting team “hasn’t changed anything about the show”.
The current season of Strictly is now approaching the halfway point, with 10 couples still left in the competition.
Last week’s Halloween special saw a hair-raising twist being introduced, with three couples winding up in the dance-off for the first time, and the judges opting for who to send home rather than who to save.
