Anton Du Beke Age: How Old Is The Strictly Charmer?
It seems Anton du Beke‘s been around for ages! He’s appeared on every series of Strictly Come Dancing, performed with the legendary Bruce Forsyth and has tiny twin children.
So what is Anton du Beke’s age?
Find out what the Strictly charmer has achieved over the years, from a day job as a salesman to dance extraordinaire!
Anton du Beke – Early Age
Mr du Beke was born in Sevenoaks in Kent. His real name is actually Anthony Paul Beke (we can see why he spiced it up a bit!). Born on 20th July 1966, the Strictly charmer is 53 years old.
Anton began dancing at just ten years of age. He took his first dancing exam when he was 12 years old at a local dance school.
Du Beke went on to dance competitively firstly at the tender age of 16. Next, he started specialising in ballroom dancing at 17.
Anton would dance in the evenings at weekends and funded his early days dancing by working as a bed salesman. Slightly less glamorous and glittery than his work nowadays!
Dancing Career
Erin Boag
Mr du Beke began dancing with his professional partner Erin Boag way back in 1997. Ms Boag is from New Zealand and has been dancing since she was just three years old! Anton du Beke’s age difference with Erin is nine years her senior.
They still dance together professionally, most recently performing their tour ‘Dance Those Magical Musicals’ across the UK and Ireland throughout 2019.
The pair have already announced tour dates for 2020, so it seems there’s no stopping them!
Strictly Come Dancing
Anton became a household name back in 2004 when he appeared on the first ever season of Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with opera singer Lesley Garrett and the couple achieved an amazing third place!
Unfortunately, the competition hasn’t been that kind to Anton since, as he has yet to lift the iconic glitterball, even after 17 seasons!
Over the years, the Strictly star has also been paired with celebrities including Ruth Langsford, Susannah Constantine, Katie Derham, Judy Murray and infamously with formidable politician Ann Widdecombe.
During Strictly Come Dancing 2019, Mr du Beke received his first ever ’10’ scores from the Strictly judges with celeb dance partner and EastEnders actress Emma Barton.
Mr du Beke Age Fears
At 53 years old, Anton du Beke’s age makes him the oldest of all of the Strictly Come Dancing professionals. He has spoken about concerns that he may be axed from Strictly because of this:
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I’m walking through fields of gold. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry. I work in this peculiar business called show and you always think it might end tomorrow. Look at poor old Brendan [Cole]. I love him dearly. But one day you’re in; the next, you’re out.”
Cole left the show in 2018, having appeared in every season since 2004, similar to du Beke. Brendan notoriously often fought with the judges, including Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood.
Anton is very mild mannered and prefers to diffuse difficult situations with humour, so hopefully the same won’t happen with du Beke!
Strictly Come Dancing has been in hot water in the past with ageism scandals. Former judge Arlene Phillips was replaced with much younger former Strictly celebrity champion Alesha Dixon.
This prompted hundreds of complains about alleged sexism, something the BBC stringently denies.
Anton’s Personal Life
Marriage
Anton’s love life remained a bit of a mystery until just a few years ago. He did date TV presenter Caroline Fereday for a year in 2007, but there were few mentions of his love life after this for a long time.
To the surprise of almost everyone, Mr du Beke married his long-term girlfriend in 2017. His now wife Hannah Summers began dating the Strictly star in 2011, but kept it very low key.
The couple became parents in the same year they married!
Summers & du Beke Age Difference
Hannah Summers’ and Anton du Beke’s age difference is eleven years. Summers was born in 1977 and went on to complete a degree in English Literature. Next, she went into marketing before successfully becoming the Chief Marketing Officer of huge mobile security company AdaptiveMobile.
Impressive stuff for sure!
Children
The couple’s twin children were born on March 30th 2017. One twin is a girl called Henrietta and the other is a boy called George.
Now 2-and-a-half years old, will the young ones take after their dancing star father? Anton has said of the twins:
“They love singing and dancing – it’s gorgeous. I can’t wait to sing a song or do a dance with them on stage. That would be a dream come true.”
We think it would be treat for us all to see that happen!
