Anton Du Beke admits he was 'stunned' by Brendan Cole's shock Strictly exit

Anton Du Beke has admitted he was totally "stunned" by Brendan Cole's departure from Strictly Come Dancing. Brendan recently confirmed live on Lorraine that he had not had his contract renewed by the BBC show, despite having been a part of Strictly since it began in 2004. Appearing on the morning show on Wednesday, Anton – the only other pro dancer to have been on the programme since its launch – shared his shock and upset: "It was one of the saddest things I've watched on telly," he said. "I was heartbroken for him, for me a little bit as well. I'm going to miss him enormously. I can't begin to tell you." He added: "There's something about being with Brendan on the show and having been there since the beginning – there's only a few of us left. I've known Brendan for a long time anyway, and we've been friends for many, many years, and being on the show together was lovely for me. You've got a brother-in-arms sort of thing."

© Photo: Rex

Anton Du Beke said he was 'heartbroken' for fellow Strictly star Brendan Cole

The 51-year-old also said he was unable to confirm whether he would be returning for another series of Strictly. He told host Lorraine: "We don't really know what's going on - it sounds so disingenuous. But the way it works is they call everyone at the same time and then the discussions start. The one thing you do know is whether you are not going to be asked to come back. And that's the phone call that you don't want. So to the positive it's a sort of scenario where we get invited to come back and then there's the contractual discussions. But all being well you don't get the other phone call," he confessed.

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Anton and Brendan have appeared on every series of Strictly since its 2004 launch

Anton went on to speak about the possibility of Brendan appearing on the US show Dancing with the Stars. "He certainly could do it, he's very able to and he's a big personality," he said. "That’s something he could do, he could have a whizz over there." He added: "I think he'd be an asset to any show that he went on quite frankly. I think he's a fabulous boy, I love him deeply. I think he's got a great personality. I think if he went over and did Dancing with the Stars it would be the better for it."

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