Anton Du Beke has excitedly revealed a new career move as he attempts to move on from the resurfaced historic row with former Strictly partner Laila Rouass.
As well as being a Strictly Come Dancing judge and renowned a ballroom and Latin dancer, Anton is also a celebrated author, with a plethora of romance novels under his belt.
However, the star, 58, is taking his writing career in a new direction as he’s set to release his very first children’s adventure story.
In a press release ahead of publishing on August 29th, Anton gushed that he ‘couldn’t be more excited’ to share the story with his fans, while dedicating his new project to his children.
The dancer shares seven-year-old twins George and Henriette with wife Hannah Summers.
Anton Du Beke has excitedly revealed a new career move as he attempts to move on from the resurfaced historic row with former Strictly partner Laila Rouass
The star, 58, is taking his writing career in a new direction as he’s set to release his very first children’s adventure story
After telling how he’d grown up wanting to be a spy thanks to his love of thrilling stories of adventure and bravery, Anton shared how he’s delighted to move into children’s literature now that he has children of his own.
He remarked: ‘And now I have my own children, George and Henrietta. They are seven-year-old twins and still share a room where they have lots of fun. And every night, before they go to sleep, they climb into their beds and I tell them a bedtime story.
‘Code Name Foxtrot is dedicated to them, and all the children and families who love sharing a story together – as well as anyone who wants to be whisked away on a great adventure (with a dash of dance magic thrown in for good measure of course!).’
Speaking further about his move into literature for a younger audience, he added: ‘I always wanted to create a story for children, even before my adulty novels – particularly one that captured the sense of excitement, of mystery and derring-do of the classic adventure stories of my youth, but told for the children of today.’
It comes after Anton was dragged into the Strictly Come Dancing misconduct scandal.
He reduced contestant Laila, who is of Indian and Moroccan descent, to tears during the 2009 series when he jokingly told her she ‘looked like a P***’ after a spray tan, with the comments resurfacing this week.
Anton apologised to Laila at the time and admitted he felt ‘stupid’ and ’embarrassed’ by his comments to the actress, with the duo making amends a few weeks later.
Last month Laila broke her silence on the ongoing Strictly Come Dancing scandal, after a historic row with her former dance partner Anton resurfaced in the wake of the ‘abuse’ allegations.
![It comes after Anton was dragged into the Strictly Come Dancing misconduct scandal [pictured with dance partner Laila Rouass]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/20/15/88726793-13761621-image-a-3_1724162649128.jpg "Anton Du Beke's New Career Move: Putting Family First 5")
It comes after Anton was dragged into the Strictly Come Dancing misconduct scandal [pictured with dance partner Laila Rouass]
In a press release ahead of publishing on August 29th, Anton gushed that he ‘couldn’t be more excited’ to share the story with his fans, while dedicating his new project to his children
The dancer shares seven-year-old twins George and Henriette with wife Hannah Summers
The actress, 53, appeared on the BBC show in 2009 with Anton but her time in the competition was marred after the dancer left her ‘in tears’ when he said she ‘looked like a P***’ during training.
It was also revealed at the time that Anton had also asked Laila – who is of Indian and Moroccan descent – if she was a terrorist in a joke about her north African heritage.
At the time of the incident, the now-judge apologised and admitted he felt ‘stupid’ and ’embarrassed’ for his comments made towards the Holby City star when she got a spray tan and the pair made amends a few weeks later.
The historic row resurfaced last month amid the ongoing barrage of allegations against the show and its professional dancers.
But Laila has now come out in defence of Anton, saying she had forgiven him for his past comments, and insisting he had never acted ‘physically, emotionally, sexually or verbally’ abusive to her at any point.
She declared that he should not ‘lose his livelihood, reputation and credibility’ and urged people to focus on the ‘incredibly concerning’ allegations from other contestants, and not allow her experience to be ‘merged’ with theirs.
Taking to her Instagram, Laila explained she hadn’t want to speak out, but felt she had to after she and her family were hit by online abuse, as well as feeling it would be ‘morally reprehensible’ to allow speculation about Anton to continue.
She wrote: ‘There has been much speculation over the last couple of weeks about alleged complaints I have made to the BBC regarding my time at Strictly.
Laila broke her silence on the ongoing Strictly Come Dancing scandal, after a historic row with her former dance partner Anton resurfaced in the wake of the ‘abuse’ allegations (pictured in 2022)
The actress, 53, appeared on the BBC show in 2009 with Anton, but her time in the competition was marred after the dancer left her ‘in tears’ when he said she ‘looked like a P***’ during training (pictured on show)
At the time of the incident, the now-judge apologised and admitted he felt ‘stupid’ and ’embarrassed’ for his comments made towards the Holby City star when she got a spray tan and the pair made amends a few weeks later (pictured in March)
‘I had no intention of making a statement but now feel it’s necessary as over the last couple of weeks there have been false accusations, online abuse and harassment aimed at me and my family.
‘Strictly is a show I have always loved so when I was offered the opportunity to compete, I was ecstatic. When I was paired with Anton, I knew I was in safe hands.
‘The show demands much of your time and energy. Anton and I rehearsed 7 days a week for approx 6/7 hours a day. This was on my insistence and Anton made himself available at these times. At no point did I feel pressured by Anton or the producers to add more time to rehearsals.’
Referencing the ‘racism’ row, she continued: ‘Unfortunately, my time on the show was scarred by a handful of incidents, some of which were discussed in the press at the time.
Laila came out in defence of Anton, saying she had forgiven him for his past comments, and insisting he had never acted ‘physically, emotionally, sexually or verbally’ abusive to her at any point (pictured on show)
She declared that he should not ‘lose his livelihood, reputation and credibility’ and urged people to focus on the ‘incredibly concerning’ allegations from other contestants, and not allow her experience to be ‘merged’ with theirs (pictured on show)
‘I would like to address those incidents; Yes, Anton used derogatory words and it was unacceptable. Yes, Anton publicly apologised to me. Above all this, and most importantly, I do not believe Anton is racist or Islamaphobic. If I believed he was, I would have refused to dance with him.’
Laila then insisted: ‘I wish to make clear, apart from the situation mentioned above, which was dealt with, at absolutely no point was I physically, emotionally, sexually or verbally abused by Anton.
‘At no point did Anton use manipulation or cruelty towards me during rehearsals. At no point did I feel vulnerable in Anton’s presence. Anton was generous, patient and hardworking.’
She added that she wanted those who have spoken out about alleged abuse on the show to be the focus, and warned about ‘witch-hunts have consequences that are far reaching and long lasting.’
