The Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has revealed that he was once stabbed by his father and had to spend three days in hospital.
Appearing on Kate Garraway’s Life Stories on ITV, the 57-year-old dancer said that his father stabbed him in the leg and stomach on Boxing Day at their family home in Kent.
Speaking of the incident, Du Beke said: “I got stabbed in the leg and in the stomach because of a fight on Boxing Day and it was an idiotic situation.
“I remember walking out of the house to walk up to the hospital holding my leg and a police car drove past and I waved them down and I said: ‘He’s in there with a knife.’
“Anyway, they carted him off and I ended up in hospital for three or four days. My only concern was getting back into the studio and dancing and the embarrassment of it.”
At the time of the incident, Du Beke revealed he was so embarrassed by what happened that he told people he had a hamstring injury.
Du Beke said the revelations would probably shock his friends and family, as it was the first time he had spoken publicly about the stabbing. He added that his father had been cleared in court over the incident.
Born to a Spanish mother and Hungarian father, Du Beke grew up on a council estate in Sevenoaks, Kent. He discovered his love of dancing after seeing his sister perform at a local studio.
Although his mother encouraged his new hobby, his father was hostile towards it, with his actions also having been affected by his alcoholism.
Speaking of his father’s alcoholism, Du Beke said: “The alcoholism and the violence … [it was] towards me, because I was a boy, a young man I suppose. You’ve got an alcoholic father and a situation where if you’re in the house, [he’s] drinking then you end up with the fights and stuff.
“You’d move room to get away from all of it and then he follows you in and the next thing you know the violence starts and then it came to a head one evening, I ended up in hospital for three days.”
Du Beke was the longest-serving professional dancer on Strictly until he took over from departing judge Bruno Tonioli permanently in 2021.
Kate Garraway’s Life Stories airs on Wednesday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
