Anton Du Beke has been probed on whether he will return to Strictly Come Dancing as a judge later this year.
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The 55-year-old, who acted as a judge on the show temporarily in 2020 and stepped in for Bruno Tonioli in 2021, did not feature in the professionals line-up which was announced last week.
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Asked whether he will be axed from the judging panel, the star told Great British Life: "The absolute truth is that I don't know. I haven't been told. They literally haven’t spoken to me about it. So, whatever you've read, it is just a rumour.
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"I'm hoping to get a call to say: 'Look, here you go, come back judging please,' but we'll wait and see. I would like to think I'd be on the show in one way or another. I wouldn't like to think they would just get rid of me altogether."
The comments come as many wonder what will happen to the judging panel for the 2022 series – will show veteran Bruno return to the hot seat or whether Anton simply becomes the fifth judge.
Asked if he would return to the show as a dancer, Anton replied: "Yes. I love the show. I've been doing it since the beginning and I'm very proud of that. I do it because I love it."
© Photo: BBCAnton has revealed he would love to be back on Strictly this year
Anton, who has appeared in every series since Strictly launched back in 2004, admitted he was rather impressed on hearing that Craig Revel Horwood would love to welcome him back on the judging panel.
"I've known Craig for a long time and that's lovely of him to say that," he added. "I'm thrilled that he thinks that and wants me on the show. I'm very fond of Craig and hopefully we will be back together to do it again next year.
"If I knew I'd be back on I’d be shouting it from the rooftops. It's like all these things, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just sitting here, waiting for someone to give me a call and say, 'hey come on.' But Craig has said he wants me back and that's the main thing."
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