Anton Du Beke has spoken out about how ‘irritating’ it is when individuals reveal Strictly Come Dancing spoilers online, telling those responsible to ‘grow up’.
Fans of the BBC show are just days away from learning which professional dancers will be matched with which celebrities for the 2023 series, as a fresh group of couples compete for the coveted Glitterball Trophy.
While many Strictly fans are content to wait patiently for the announcement, it was revealed today that the couples’ identities had been leaked online, causing outrage.
Ahead of his solo tour An Evening with Anton and Friends, which will bring razzle dazzle to London’s Palladium on Sunday October 1, the judge expressed his displeasure with spoilers, who undermine the outcomes of the Sunday elimination programme before it airs on TV.
Fans of the dance competition will be aware that the Saturday night event is televised live on the BBC, while the results show is taped afterwards and presented on TV the following Sunday evening.
‘That irritates me. I get irritated. I hate anybody who’s a spoiler,’ Anton said in response to the spoilers that are sometimes leaked online.
‘I can only think they take great pleasure from it and I just want to say grow up. Don’t spoil it for other people.’
The 57-year-old raised the point that individuals responsible for the leaks may claim to be doing it as a’service’ to others… which he called a ‘lot of old nonsense’ and a ‘puerile explanation of a foolish deed’.
The dancer continued: ‘Everybody knows what the show is. It’s a live show where people at home vote for who they want to keep in, and then we do the results show afterwards, and then on the following evening, the results show is aired and then we see who’s been voted off.
‘It’s not necessary for anybody to tell people the results of that show before they happen, because it’s only tomorrow night – it’s not next week.’
Anton emphasised that individuals who feel the need to destroy the outcomes should ‘just let people appreciate it the way it is’ and ‘don’t wreck it’.
‘It annoys me and it makes me very grumpy,’ he added, before urging fans of the show not to go actively looking for the leaks online.
‘Don’t search for it, but don’t put it on there. Whoever you are, Mr Spoiler – why are you doing that? What are you gaining out of that? What’s the purpose of that? It’s just pathetic. That’s how I feel about it. I get grumpy about it.’
On a positive note, Anton is ecstatic to be beginning on his tour, saying he feels like the ‘luckiest person in the world’ every time he comes out on stage for An Evening With.
‘I genuinely, genuinely love it and I feel really humbled by it and I’ve got a room full of people who want to come and spend an evening with me and just have a chat,’ he said.
‘It’s quite intimate, although we’re doing these big venues like the Palladium, for example, and I feel like I want to walk on stage and just say to everybody, “Thank you very much. Thanks for coming out. Thanks for being part of my life. I’m having a great time. I hope you’re enjoying yourselves. Let’s have a bit of fun tonight.”’
Anton outlined the premise of the performance, saying that he sings and dances as well as answers questions from the audience, who can send them in by text.
‘They ask me anything that they want. Now, the Palladium I’m hoping to get some special guests to come along and join me on stage so we have a bit of a star-studded night. I’ve got a few people I’ve spoken to but with these things it’s always diaries and stuff. So hopefully we can do something like that,’ he said.
‘Otherwise, it will just be me and the audience and the band. Got a lovely orchestra with me, great dancers. So it’s just gonna be a fabulous night. I feel so sort of emotional about it I suppose, because I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world.’
The Strictly Come Dancing launch show airs on Saturday September 16 at 6.35pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Information on where to buy tickets for An Evening with Anton and Friends can be found on his website here.
Source My Celebrity Life.
