Strictly chaperones will help with celebrities’ confidence, says judge Du Beke

Anton Du Beke says he thinks the “confidence” of celebrities might grow with the new Strictly Come Dancing chaperones that have been brought into the BBC One show in the wake of accusations about teaching methods.

The corporation announced it would introduce new welfare measures, including a member of the production team who will be present “at all times” during rehearsals in the wake of Amanda Abbington making accusations about her 2023 partner Giovanni Pernice, which he denies.

Strictly judge and former professional on the show, Du Beke told the PA news agency: “I don’t think anyone’s going to notice them in the room, to be honest with you.

“Once you get involved, and once you get started and you get going with your partner, you just crack on, and often I’ve had with my partners in the past, you get the routine together, and you want people in the room, in actual fact, so you can perform for them, and it helps with the nerves for your partner and the performance.

“It’s OK (doing) it in the studio on your own, then suddenly you do it in the studio … with hundreds of people in the room, and then millions of people watching, (this is) such a leap.

“So I’ve always, over the years, got people into the room, if we were in somewhere like a gym, and there were people wondering, I get people coming into the room, (and say) ‘so come and watch this, come watch this’. They would love to come and watch so I think it might help with the confidence a bit.”

The dancer released his latest Buckingham Hotel novel A Dance For The King on Thursday, which sees his character, the soldier Raymond de Guise return from war and reunited his wife Nancy as well as dancing at the Royal Albert Hall in front of the monarch.

Speaking in front of the venue, he said: “Raymond’s been asked to perform for the king as the guest of honour, and it just sort of felt very personal, actually, this part of the storyline, having danced at the Albert Hall, loving dancing at the Albert Hall, and having danced in front of royalty, but never having danced for a king, personally.

“The king was such a huge part of that time during the Second World War, and of course, we have a new king now, so I thought it would be fitting to set it in that sort of context.”

When asked if he drew inspiration from his own life, Du Beke said that you get a “special feeling” when you dance for a “member of the royal family”.

“It does elevate it,” he added. “It does make it more special. It seems like the pinnacle that … you do as an artist.”

He says that “dance was a major part of society” during the early 20th century, and his interest in that period of time also went into the book.

“There is a part that I’m very excited about, because I’ve always wanted to write a spy novel, and we do have some espionage,” he added.

When asked about the American version of Strictly, Dancing With The Stars, which the late Len Goodman judged, Du Beke says he felt it has a “different feel” to the BBC version.

Du Beke says: “It’s sort of a bit more afternoony, actually, isn’t it? There’s lounge suits, not dinner suits.”

He added that he thinks the issue is it being aired midweek, as sport dominates on Saturday night in the US, unlike in the UK where Strictly airs at the weekend.

Du Beke says: “Weekends, I think (are) designed for sport, isn’t it? In American football. So you have to pick another day. You can have any day you want, just not these days. This is when the football’s on, American football.”

A Dance For The King is out now.