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Anton du Beke: Strictly pro's co-star reveals surprising ‘retirement’ advice he gave him


Ian Waite, 49, has admitted he encouraged Anton du Beke, 53, to announce his retirement from Strictly Come Dancing last year. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, the professional dancer and It Takes Two presenter revealed how he told the King of Ballroom to jokingly tell fans he was stepping back from the BBC show last year.

Although Ian insisted “there’s never been any talk of Anton retiring”, he said he previously advised the Strictly favourite to make the big declaration about his future on the series in order to get more votes if he reached the final with his partner Emma Barton.

Ian, who is preparing to embark on his second tour with fellow pro Vincent Simone, explained: “I think he loves it, it’s his life so there’s never been any talk of him retiring to be honest. 

“I did say to him last year when he was maybe going to be in the final, I said, ‘Listen, if you announce that if you win you’ll retire and then everyone votes for you. Then when it comes to winning it you should say, ‘No actually, I was only joking!’

“Maybe he should do that! That would be a good chance of winning, like a, ‘This is my last show,’ kind of thing.”

READ MORE… Kevin Clifton: Strictly pro’s major swipe at co-star Anton Du Beke

“We don’t get choreographers so that’s the difficulty, we have to do it ourselves and towards the end of each series you get very tired so it’s really difficult to keep up with things. 

“You can forget about housework, that goes out the window. Your whole focus is on the show and that’s difficult because it’s so time consuming, it’s five or six months of your life every year.”

In spite of the tougher elements of Strictly, Ian said it was “a pleasure” to be part of the programme.

He added: “But obviously the show is so great it’s a pleasure to be on there and that outweighs the difficulty and the fact that you get tired.”

Ian is currently busy rehearing for his production The Ballroom Boys – Act Two, alongside Argentine Tango expert Vincent.

Speaking about the touring show, he divulged: “It’s a variety show so you don’t have to be a big dance fan to enjoy it, it’s got a bit of everything in there.”

Opening up about his partnership with former Strictly pro Vincent, he added: “We tend to bounce off each other and take the mickey out of each other!”

The Ballroom Boys – Act Two 2020 tour runs from 20th March to 21st June, opening in Worcester at The Swan Theatre and closing in Bromley at Churchill Theatre. Tickets can be booked directly through the theatres or at www.theballroomboys.com. There are also a limited number of VIP Meet and Greet tickets available at each venue.



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