Anton Du Beke backed as new host of Strictly: 'Tess and Claudia leaving isn't the final nail in the coffin for the show'
But their exit will trigger a huge Strictly shake-up, it's predicted
Anton Du Beke has been tipped to become the new presenter of Strictly Come Dancing.
The professional dancer has been part of the Strictly family since the first episode, all the way back in 2004.
He danced as a pro until moving to the judging panel in 2021. But could he be set for another big career move? One ex-pro is backing him to take over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman when they leave at the end of this year…
Anton Du Beke is Ola’s pick to present Strictly
Last week, Tess and Claudia announced that the current series of Strictly Come Dancing would be their last. Since then, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive, with everyone and their aunt commenting on who they think should take over the reins.
Former show pro Ola Jordan has told ED! that she thinks Anton is just the man for the job. And he’s made no secret of the fact that, one day, he would love to present it – just like his idol Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Speaking on behalf of Mecca Bingo, Ola has backed Anton to take over, and told us who she’d like to see replace him on the judging panel.
“Anton! Anton Du Beke! And my James sitting on the panel. Yes, James Jordan on the panel, Anton presenting! He can sit on the panel and disagree with Craig [Revel Horwood]. That would be the best TV, wouldn’t it?” she said.
‘The show will be great – as long as they bring in the right people’
Far from thinking Tess and Claudia’s departure could be the beginning of the end for the BBC ballroom show, Ola reckons it’ll still be “great – as long as they bring in the right people” to replace them.
She said: “Strictly is amazing – it’s an incredible show. They’ll bring new presenters in, and it’ll still be great. In America, they’ve had about 10 different presenters over the years, and it’s still going strong. So no, I don’t think it’s a final-nail-in-the-coffin moment.
“The girls have to move on – they’ve been doing the same job for so many years. People have to move on. Whoever they bring in, I think the show will still be great – as long as they bring in the right people.”
However, Ola does reckon their departure will trigger a time of huge change on the show.
“I do think they should change some professional dancers – make it feel like a new show. Let’s think of something fresh. It’s got to grow. Spice it up a bit. The girls are going – let’s change it up and see what else we can do,” she told ED!.
‘No surprise’ Jimmy left
Meanwhile, Ola said that she wasn’t surprised that Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink was eliminated from the series this weekend. He was kicked off the competition after a dance-off against Amber Davies.
“Obviously Amber is a much better dancer, so I’m not surprised he lost the dance-off,” Ola shared. She also wasn’t surprised by them being in the bottom two, due to the amount of ties on the leaderboard at the weekend.
“Amber and Nikita didn’t drop down far – she only fell about four places. I know she was second from the top of the leaderboard, but because of the ties, it was only four places. And I didn’t love Jimmy and Lauren this week, so I’m not surprised,” she said.
So who will go next?
Agreeing with the bookies, Ola said: “It depends on what dances they get, but La Voix, Balvinder [Sopal], maybe Harry [Aikines-Aryeetey] – possibly, if he gets a bad dance. I don’t know if it’s time for Karen [Carney] and Carlos yet, but Balvinder – it’s time for her, I think.”
Read more: Strictly’s Ellie Goldstein at centre of rumours she’s left the show
