Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke pays tribute to legend Bruce Forsyth
Showbiz legend Sir Bruce is very much missedAnton Du Beke grew emotional on Morning Live today (November 13) as he paid a heartfelt tribute to the late Sir Bruce Forsyth.
The Strictly Come Dancing favourite, who swapped the ballroom for the judging panel in recent years, opened up about the showbiz icon during a chat with hosts Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh. And it was clear just how much Bruce still means to him.
‘The man to look up to’
During his appearance on the BBC daytime show, Anton chatted with Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh about the current series of Strictly. The competition has just tipped past the halfway mark, with Harry Aikines-Aryeetey becoming the sixth star to leave the ballroom.
Anton, 59, then looked back on his long journey with the show. He’s been part of Strictly since its very first series in 2004 — spending 15 years as a pro dancer before moving onto the judging panel in 2021.
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.
Strictly star Anton Du Beke has been on the show since the start
That long history meant he shared the floor for many years with Strictly’s iconic original host, Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Bruce co-presented the series alongside Tess Daly from 2004 until 2013, when Claudia Winkleman took over.
He sadly died in August 2017, aged 89.
