Anton Du Beke has opened up about this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line-up
Strictly Come Dancing professionals tease 2025 reveals
TV judge Anton Du Beke has confessed that he doesn’t recognise many of the celebrities chosen for Strictly Come Dancing nowadays.
Reflecting public sentiment that the BBC dance programme’s lineup can occasionally lack the sparkle or major names of bygone years, he acknowledged that the first occasion he might encounter some of them could be in the ballroom itself.
Anton revealed: “When I first started, we sort of knew them, but now as you get older… there are a number of people on the show that I am not familiar with.”
Discussing last year’s model participant, Tasha Ghouri, he continued: “I mean, last year, Tasha? I did not know Tasha. No, I don’t know a number of people on the show.”
However, he has grown accustomed to feeling somewhat perplexed, as more digital influencers join the programme, noting: “You don’t know who they are, but that is normal.”
Anton Du Beke discussed the changes in the celebrity line-up (Image: BBC)READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing star makes heartbreaking confession two years after death of husbandREAD MORE: Strictly Come Dancing expert hits back at accusations over line-up
Regarding the 25-year-old YouTuber taking to the dance floor for 2025, he commented: “There is that lovely boy George Clarke doing it this year. I thought it was the buildings fella, George Clarke the architect.”
Despite having witnessed performances by the participants who will be showcasing their moves on television from this Saturday, reports the Mirror, he hasn’t observed sufficient material to select a champion.
Anton, 59, remembered being pressed for an early assessment during the launch show recording and remarked, “They made it down the stairs unaided. I don’t know what you want me to say. Ask me next week when they have danced a bit.”
The Strictly Come Dancing 2025 cast(Image: PA)This year’s 15 celebrities include four reality TV stars: Vicky Pattison, 37, Thomas Skinner, 34, Dani Dyer, 29, and La Voix, 45. There are also four sports stars: sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, 37; footballers Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, 53; Karen Carney, 38; and rugby union’s Chris Robshaw, 39.
The largest group consists of actors, with five in total: Stefan Dennis, 66; Alex Kingston, 62; Balvinder Sopal, 46; Ellie Goldstein, 23; and Lewis Cope, 30. Additionally, there is presenter Ross King, 63, and YouTuber George.
Speaking at an event to launch his new novel, Monte Carlo by Moonlight, Anton revealed he will soon analyse the celebrities’ body language. He said of judging: “As I sit there, I know exactly what has been going on. I can see by this routine what sort of a week you have had, and I laugh.
“If they start at the top of the stairs and walk down, they have had a very difficult week, like they are wasting as much time as they can until they get on the floor and have to take hold. The waltz is always lovely to judge. You can always see how good and bad their week has been by how long they stay ‘in hold’.”
The new series of Strictly Come Dancing is set to kick off at 6.40pm this Saturday on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.
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