Len Goodman's advice to Anton du Beke ahead of Strictly Come Dancing judging stint
Anton turned to the former Head Judge ahead of the weekend's show.
Long time Strictly Come Dancing professional Anton Du Beke made his debut on the judging panel at the weekend, and former Head Judge Len Goodman had some advice for the dancer.
Anton is filling in for Motsi Mabuse while she self-isolates, and he's explained how he turned to Len for some tips before his debut.
"Len's wonderful, I've known him 40 years ever since I started dancing," he said during an appearance on This Morning. "He gave me the same advice he gave himself: be yourself and say what you see, and I did exactly that.
"I thought I've got a bit of experience here I should know what I'm looking at. I just remarked at what I saw and enjoyed about those performances."
And Anton said he thoroughly enjoyed his new experience on the show, telling Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby he "loved every second" of it.
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"I felt comfortable, it's not like I haven't got any experience in talking about dancing," he explained.
"It was lovely to be able to sit there and enjoy the dancing and comment on all the things I loved about it."
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Anton's first week as judge saw a slightly surprising result, with early series favourite Maisie Smith and partner Gorka Marquez finding themselves in the bottom two, up against The Wanted star Max George and partner Dianne Buswell.
The Strictly Come Dancing judges chose to save Maisie – with Anton saying that it had been a difficult choice to make.
“Well, I have to say it’s so close," he said after both couples had taken to the floor for the dance-off. "They were both immaculate through that dance. It literally was just the smallest timing. For me, I’m going to have to save Maisie and Gorka.”
The Strictly stalwart also proved to be extremely popular with viewers after his first show as judge – with a RadioTimes.com poll revealing that as many as 94 per cent of Strictly fans want Anton to take on the judging role permanently, with over 4,000 votes cast.
He was previously eliminated from this year's show in the second week, having been paired with former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday at 7:15pm on BBC One. While you’re waiting, visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or check out our guide to new TV shows 2020 to find out what’s airing this autumn and beyond.
