Anton Du Beke

Launching a music career only later in life, Anton du Beke was better known as a dancer, finding his greatest fame on the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing. Born Anthony Paul Beke on July 20, 1966 to a Hungarian father and Spanish mother and brought up in leafy Sevenoaks, Kent, he began dancing at the age of ten. Taking up ballroom at 14, he left school two years later and began an amateur career while still in his teens. Holding down a day job in a furniture store, he danced on the weekends, becoming well known on the competition circuit. In 1997 he met Erin Boag, who became his regular dancing partner, and together they won several competitions. They turned professional in 2002, and it was their win in the 2003 International Dance Teachers' Association Classic that drew the attention of the BBC, which was looking for professional dancers to take part in its new show Strictly Come Dancing. Du Beke and Boag were hired, and the rest is history. The show became a phenomenal ratings success and was franchised to more than 40 other countries, in most of which it is known as Dancing with the Stars. The first season aired in 2004 and 13 years later it was still on the air, with du Beke having danced in almost every episode. He and Boag became household names, and undertook regular show tours. He also branched out into television, hosting the cooking show Step Up to the Plate and the game show Hole in the Wall. In 2017, at the age of 51, he recorded his debut album, From the Top, comprising classic swing numbers and modern songs reimagined in a swing style.
© John D. Buchanan /TiVo