Strictly favourite Anton du Beke has hit the jackpot this year with his dance partner Emma Barton, and the pair received their highest score yet on Saturday night after impressing the judges with their Viennese Waltz. And while Anton is still on a high from their performance, he warned viewers that this week's Paso Doble might not be as polished as a result of Emma's hectic EastEnders schedule. Talking to Zoe Ball on her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Wednesday morning, the dad-of-two said of their upcoming dance: "We are doing Paso Doble. We haven't had a lot of time, Emma's schedule on EastEnders is unbelievable, I mean talk about two jobs. She's absolutely morning, noon or night either doing EastEnders or Strictly. So this week's Paso Doble might have a few references to the Viennese Waltz. If we happen to be starting on a bench, don't be surprised!"
Strictly star Anton du Beke is worried about his next dance with Emma Barton
Anton also admitted that their Viennese Waltz to Send in the Clowns last Saturday was a dance he had wanted to perform on the show since he joined in the first series, but that he had been waiting for the right partner to be able to do it with. "It's a song I wanted to do on the show for as long as I've been doing the show actually," he said. "You can't do it unless you get to a certain level with it, and Emma is so good and dramatically she was able to pull it off which was really important, otherwise it wouldn't mean anything. I was so delighted it came out just how I want it to. Afterwards I was a bit emotional, I was so delighted."
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Anton and Emma are favourites in the competition
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Since finding out that he was going to be partnered with Emma in this year's competition, Anton has been on cloud nine. The star was the first pro to leave the show in 2018 when partnered with Susannah Constantine and this year he is determined to make it all the way. Following their dance on Saturday night, many of the audience members were in tears, including Emma's EastEnders co-star Tanya Franks, who had gone along to support her friend. Judge Bruno Tonioli praised the couple, telling them: "Your best dance yet. Apart from the dancing, what you did so beautifully was the interpretation of the character." Motsi Mabuse added: "The dance spoke for itself, I don't think you have to say much about that dance, because it was just so beautiful – so special." Craig Revel Horwood was also impressed: "I thought it was classy, I thought it was super stylish," he told them.
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