Anton Du Beke Quotes

I don't like the Samba; it's nonsense. With a lot of these Latin dances I can't really understand what they're all about. I like the Rumba and the Paso Doble but the others I could take or leave.

I get really very upset when I'm voted out, and I feel very disappointed.

I have no trouble with my sleep, but the amount I have varies from four to eight hours, depending on my schedule.

I wish I'd become a professional dancer sooner. I did other jobs - like baking - while dancing part-time, and didn't commit until I was 29.

My father is Hungarian and moved to Britain during the uprising, and my Spanish mum comes from Galicia; they moved here at the end of the Fifties.

Ballroom is two people dancing together to music, touching in perfect harmony.

I hated most music in the 1970s, especially disco, but Bowie was edgier.

I always enjoy the process, meeting somebody new and spending time with them and becoming friends with them. That has always been the joy of 'Strictly' for me, so I enjoy every year.

As soon as I left school at 16, I worked in a factory making aircraft components.

I don't profess to be Luciano Pavarotti, but I can hold a tune.

Life's supposed to be an adventure, a surprise!

I remember watching the Three Tenors at the World Cup in 1990, and it was amazing. They made opera accessible to the man in the street.

I think I've got a bit more to offer than just dancing. It might just be me that thinks that, but it's worth saying.

My goal was to become the best dancer in the world and, because I started late, I always had this feeling I was playing catch-up, so I've been a bit of a maniac most of my life, sort of striving.

I have a magnificent chin and a long, odd-shaped face. As a result, I always look better in collars.

I do watch what I eat, but I don't make it myself. When I eat out, I just have to make sure the things I buy are good and healthy.

The thing about me is that I love variety. I like to try new things, and I don't want to be pinned back.

Because we had no other relatives living in the U.K., me, my parents and my siblings continuously journeyed abroad to bond with our extended family.

Ballroom dancing: it's a wonderful thing at so many levels because you've got to follow the rules. They used to call those rules etiquette once upon a time, but you don't really have that any more.

Too many multi-vitamins are packaged as one size fits all, but you should be more specific about what you need. When I was competing as a dancer, I took zinc for healthy skin and immune system.

I'd like to do a kind of 'Sunday Night At The Palladium'-style variety show on the BBC.

You can't talk about yourself in the third party - that makes you a lunatic!

I think cookery shows have become so sophisticated, and everyone's so marvellous at it, but there are people like me who aren't into the cooking malarkey, who still don't know how to boil an egg for three minutes.

If I do find myself walking up the aisle and dancing at my own wedding reception, I want the first dance to be both spontaneous and dramatic.

When I'm dancing with any woman, I immediately get rid of intimacy barriers. I just give her a big hug and crack on.

I went professional with my partner, Erin Boag, 11 years ago, and we had success competing round the world, but appearing on 'Strictly' has changed my life.

One day, I just wandered into a dance class full of girls, and that was it. I thought, 'Hang on! I'll have a bit of this.' I went back a week later and got dragged up by the teacher. It wasn't a massive calling.

Being fit is the easiest part of being a dance professional. I used to just throw on a backpack full of rocks and run up a hill. You don't even have to go to a gym.

At places like Chelsea, often the garden displays are so big and grand that you'd never be able to have them at home.

There is not a lot of money in competition dancing. There never has been; it's all about winning the trophies, really. It's not like golf.

Because we had no money when I was growing up, when I started dancing, I wasn't allowed to be frivolous - my mum made me go to every lesson because she was paying for it.

Since being involved in 'Strictly Come Dancing,' my life has changed completely. I can't walk down the street without women throwing themselves at me, I usually wouldn't mind, but they are of a certain age. Hopefully, after this series, they will bring their daughters!

I like to get up and get out. Otherwise you end up kicking about, and it's easy to flick the telly on; then before you know it, it is 11 A.M. and you haven't done anything.

A dancer's career is short - you just keep going until your legs pack up.

I don't get grumpy at a 'Strictly' level, you understand. We're just making a television show - the person I'm dancing with can't dance; they're doing their best, and we're not going to win the World Championships.

The Fred Astaire movies made a huge impression on me.

Sadly, it has often been said that my rear is better than my front, so thank you very much indeed.

I just get grumpy with bad behaviour.

I don't mind how good or bad my partner is, as long as we have a lovely time.

Being a competitive dancer is an expensive business - you have to buy the £2,000 or so tail suit and the shoes, and then get yourself around the world to the competitions. And there is not a lot of money to be made in competing.

I was one of those people who just flitted about in life. I had no plans and no sense of direction.

You spend your life having lessons, practising and competing as an amateur, and working during the day. As you get to the top end of the amateur field, you try not to work anymore; you earn your living through dancing, maybe by doing a bit of teaching. It's an ongoing life's work.

Mum was always hard-working. She came over from Spain and bought her own council house.

I work out in the gym three times a week on top of my dancing, so I have to eat a lot to keep my weight and energy up: a big breakfast, and little and often throughout the day.

I got sent some cheese once. I'm not sure if that was saying something about my act, or just because I like cheese.

As I grew up, I wasn't a great buyer of albums, but I really liked 'The Jam.' I like good musicians and loved the energy of their songs.

'Strictly' is a bit like scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup Final or sinking the final putt in the Ryder Cup - only a few people get the opportunity to do it, and they have got to be famous.

My only drive was to be the best dancer in the world, but I never won the world championship.

Wherever I can get a fast track, I'll try to because I can't stand the airport experience. If you can afford priority boarding, then do it. Nobody wants an unpleasant experience before it starts.

If things don't go fantastically, you just have to deal with it.

My old dance teacher, Jimmy Wilde, a former European ballroom dancing champion, was so sophisticated.

I'm going for Britain's Best Dressed Man award, but strangely, I'm never on the list.

I go through money like a bloke with three arms.

I've been playing golf as long as I've been dancing, since I was 13 or 14. I play off six. I like to get out on a golf course as often as I can.