Strict star Anton Du Beke fights back tears as he reveals he was stabbed by his alcoholic father on Boxing Day and spent three days in hospital after a shock attack – as he speaks for the first time about child abuse

Anton Du Beke of Strictly Come Dancing has revealed how he spent three days in hospital after he was stabbed in the stomach and leg by his father on Boxing Day while living at the family home in Kent.

In a candid and tearful confession to Kate Garraway’s life stories, Du Beke said the revelations would likely come as a shock to his friends and family as it is the first time he has spoken out about the incident. ‘childhood.

Born to a Spanish mother and a Hungarian father, Judge Strictly lived in a housing estate in Sevenoaks and discovered his talent for dancing after picking up his sister from the local studio. Although his mother encouraged his new hobby, his father, Antal, “turned a corner” against Du Beke as alcoholism got the better of him.

Du Beke, 57, told the ITV show: “The alcoholism and the violence… (it was) towards me, because I was a boy, a young man I guess.

‘…You have an alcoholic dad and a situation where if you’re at home (he’s) drinking, you end up with the fights and stuff. You would change rooms to get away from it all and then he would follow you and the next thing you know the violence starts and then it came to a head one night I ended up in the hospital for three days.

Struggling to hold back tears, he said: “I was stabbed, I’ve never said that out loud before. »

Horrifying: Anton Du Beke revealed he was stabbed by his father Antal as he detailed horrific childhood abuse

Abuse: The 57-year-old Strictly Come Dancing star, who once told how his father beat him with a belt, admitted he never told anyone about the terrifying incident

Anton recalled how he waved at a police car as he limped into hospital after his father attacked him.

He added: “I remember walking out of the house to the hospital, holding my leg, and a police car drove by and I waved it down and said, ” He’s in there with a knife.” »

Anton’s sister Veronica Richards also appeared on the show and shared how Antal was against her son’s dreams of becoming a dancer.

She said: ‘He used to call Anton gay and it turned on him. My dad’s drinking affected his mood – he was mean, he wasn’t nice when he was drunk.

“My dad used to drink his money down the toilet, so what mum did was work night shifts in a care home. So she wasn’t there to protect us.

Antal, who was from Hungary, was cleared by police for the stabbing and later divorced Anton’s Spanish-born mother Ascension. Anton eventually left the family home and changed his name from Anthony Beke to Anton Du Beke.

Interview: Speaking on Life Stories of Kate Garraway, Anton said: ‘It came to a head one night. I ended up in the hospital for three days. I was stabbed in the leg and in the stomach’

Family: Anton’s sister Veronica Richards also appeared on the show and shared how Antal was against her son’s dreams of becoming a dancer

He explained, “I wanted a fresh start and a fresh start and I wanted to leave behind what had happened before and then move on.

‘I just wanted to be me. I started with Anton Du Beke and really went from there.

Antal died in 2001 and Anton chose not to attend his funeral, but the star remains close to his mother and sister.

He said, “I don’t think of him. I never give it a second thought. It doesn’t influence me at all. I hate the idea of something like that defining you. I hate ‘Woe to me’. My motivation to do what I did wasn’t because of that, it was because I wanted to do it.

Change: Anton finally left the family home and changed his name from Anthony Beke to Anton Du Beke

Family: Anton is now married to his wife Hannah with whom he shares six-year-old twins George and Henrietta

“And there’s only one way to do that, which is to be the best. »

Elsewhere during the interview, Anton opened up about his 20-year tenure on Strictly Come Dancing.

He joined the judging panel for the 2021 series and explained that Len Goodman was the only person he went to for advice on the new role.

He said: ‘They asked me to judge, so of course I spoke to Len. I haven’t spoken to anyone else. I feel like Len and I shared the Strictly Come Dancing journey together.

“I had known Len for 45 years. It was immediately clear what I had to do in five seconds — he told me, “Be yourself and say what you see.” That’s it.’

Show: Anton joined the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel for the 2021 series and told how Len Goodman was the only person he went to for advice on the new role

Despite being on the show for so long, Anton has only reached the final twice, with Katie Derham in 2015 and Emma Barton in 2019, but failed to win each time.

Speaking about his track record, he said: “I achieved two things in ten minutes. First, it’s not about me, and second, I’m going to have to be myself because we had the microphones on and the cameras on all the time.

“So I didn’t care who I had, and if I had someone who couldn’t dance, I would fly them in. It’s fun.

“But I hated being rejected, it was absolutely mortifying and sickening and really, really awful because I hated not being on the show. »

The Life Stories of Kate Garraway airs on ITV1 at 9pm on Wednesday.

dailymail UK

Bruno Guillon: “I spent half an hour with a firecracker on my forehead”… The host recounts the attack on his family in the middle of the night

Met Police release more CCTV footage of the man they want to speak to after two victims were stabbed in a ‘homophobic attack’ outside London nightclub

Luis Rubiales’ mother is admitted to hospital on the third day of her hunger strike following the ‘Kissgate’ scandal: the relative of the struggling…

Stabbed victims, mown-down pedestrians and bikers, GIGN attack: the crazy murderous odyssey of the Reunion madman

Attack on Arras. Mohammed Mogouchkov’s father says he “condemns” his son’s act and accuses France

Two men stabbed in homophobic attack outside Clapham nightclub | world news

Val-de-Marne: the city of L’Haÿ-les-Roses in shock after the attack on the mayor’s home

Forced kiss: “His hunger strike had to be interrupted” Luis Rubiales’ mother, seized with an anxiety attack, transported to hospital