Anton du Beke has his sights firmly set on the Strictly Come Dancing final – and he's willing to employ extreme tactics to ensure he lifts the Glitterball trophy this year! The 53-year-old, who has appeared on Strictly ever since it began in 2004, is faring very well in the competition with his partner Emma Barton; they are one of just four couples left in the show. But he’s considering an underhand approach to guarantee victory in the final. Anton appeared on Heart Breakfast on Thursday morning when he was asked by host Jamie Theakston about the competition – in particular Karim Zeroul and Amy Dowden, who scored the first perfect 40 of the series last week.
Strictly's Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden earned a perfect score of 40 last week
"There is one thing that stands in your way, and that is Karim and Amy," Jamie remarked. "We all want you to win, we're all rooting for you." "Thank you very much," Anton responded. "I genuinely, genuinely love you for that! I wouldn't have got up this early in the morning for anybody else, let me tell you…"
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The star was then asked, "What's it going to take for you to [beat] them?" "Well, what I might do is – somebody said this little technique years and years ago at a competition – what I might do is lock him in a broom cupboard!" Anton joked, to much laughter in the studio. "You know, just before the show starts. I know you think it's quite sinister. But I think it's quite good… It's sort of good?!"
Anton du Beke and Emma Barton have their sights set on the Strictly final
Anton and Emma are certainly on track to do well in the competition; last week they received a standing ovation from Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli, and earned themselves a whopping 39 points. Anton has had mixed fortunes during his 17 years on Strictly. His highest ever position was back in series one, when he was placed third in the competition with Lesley Garrett. But back in series six, he was second to be eliminated when he was teamed up with Gillian Taylforth. Last year, he danced with Susannah Constantine, coming in last place, and prior to that he danced with Ruth Langsford, ending the competition in ninth position.