Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has revealed that the late Sir Bruce Forsyth once issued a specific request regarding the show's judging panel arrangement. Entertainment icon Bruce, who died in 2017 at 89, previously co-presented the BBC ballroom competition alongside Tess Daly before Claudia Winkleman took over his role.
It appears he played a part in determining where the judges would be positioned on the Strictly panel. While Anton, Shirley Ballas, and Motsi Mabuse joined after Bruce's era, Craig Revel Horwood has been a judge since the programme's inception, and the beloved presenter decided he wanted him seated at the opposite end of the table, reports Wales Online.
Speaking on ITV's This Morning, Anton revealed: "A lot of people won't know this, but on the very first series of Strictly Come Dancing he [Craig] was up the end where I sit. He was up Brucie's end. Brucie went, 'You have to get him away from me' and they moved him down the other end."
Presenter Ben Shephard playfully questioned Anton whether this was due to Craig - who was also appearing on This Morning - being "mean". Craig, known for his cutting remarks on the programme, clarified: "Brucie said 'I don't want him on the end because I'm going to go down the line and we can't end on a negative.'"
"So I was shunted," he remarked as Anton, Ben, and co-host Cat Deeley chuckled. "So literally Brucie moved Craig to where he is now," Anton confirmed.
Craig has served on the judging panel since the show's debut series in 2004, while Anton, formerly one of the professional dancers on the programme, joined the panel in 2021. Tess and Claudia have now departed from their presenting roles, with the upcoming series set to be fronted by Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and ex-Strictly professional dancer Johannes Radebe.
Three participants have been announced for the new series thus far: Australian vocalist Delta Goodrem, EastEnders actress Lacey Turner, and Love Island's Dani Dyer, who was scheduled to compete last year but withdrew following an ankle injury. Strictly Come Dancing airs on the BBC, and This Morning airs on ITV at 10am on weekdays.
