Strictly judge Anton DuBeke's biggest regret and 'moments of sadness' revealed

Strictly judge Anton DuBeke has shown his vulnerable side by admitting, despite his cheery disposition, the one regret that plagues him

Hannah Summers and Anton Du Beke attend the Royal Performance of "Top Gun: Maverick" at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London, England.
(Image credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)

Strictly judge Anton DuBeke has been confirmed as one of the Strictly judges 2022 and it's pretty obvious that he's incredibly grateful for this opportunity. 

However, he's also human and while Strictly star Anton Du Beke has previously shared his career highlights, he's been hesitant to focus on the bits he's not so happy about - until now.

According to the Mirror, Anton quoted the famous singer Edith Piaf's song about not regretting a thing saying, “Sadly I don’t care what Edith Piaf says. I never won it and it is a regret.”

The former Strictly pro certainly paid his dues as a dancer, lasting 18 seasons on the hit show before he stepped behind the judging table. He came within a hair's breadth of victory when he came second with Emma Barton in 2019, and was almost there in 2004 when he came third with Lesley Garrett.


So does he have a favorite you ask? Never, he said. “They were all marvelous. I enjoyed dancing and spending time with all of them." Adding, "some did better than others, that’s all I can say. They were all robbed though, every one of them was robbed.”

Despite loving the experience of being on the judging panel, it's clear that his career highlights have been taking a twirl on the dancefloor. Who could blame him, it appears to be a magical place. Just look at the Strictly couple to marry and hell, even the Queen watches Strictly too.

Anton Du Beke during press day for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, a garden show held by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, United Kingdom on September 21, 2021. The annual flower show was postponed in May due to the coronavirus lockdown and the autumn show is it held over six day, from 21 to 26 September.

(Image credit: Dinendra Haria/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

"There are moments of sadness that I’m not dancing anymore," he admitted to the Mirror. "But not so much. I do hope to dance again in the show, perhaps in the group ensemble piece."

Discussing what he loves most about the new role he explained, “The thing about the show that I’ve always found the most difficult is being voted off, and I’m happy that I won’t be voted off anymore."

Anton added, “I love the show, and being voted off means you’re no longer in it and there’s no middle ground. I hate that, but it’s part of the show." This isn't the first time he celebrated this privilege, as evidenced by a chat he previously had with the Argus. “The big difference between dancing on the show and being a judge of course is I’m guaranteed to make the final," he said, "that’s the most exciting thing for me."

Aoife Hanna
Junior News Editor

Aoife is an Irish journalist and writer with a background in creative writing, comedy, and TV production.

Formerly woman&home's junior news editor and a contributing writer at Bustle, her words can be found in the Metro, Huffpost, Delicious, Imperica and EVOKE.

Her poetry features in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology.

Outside of work you might bump into her at a garden center, charity shop, yoga studio, lifting heavy weights, or (most likely) supping/eating some sort of delicious drink/meal.