Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke has spoken candidly about his reaction to learning his father had died, years after the dancer was left hospitalised following a stabbing.
The BBC judge, 60, shared the story in a new interview, recalling the moment he received a phone call confirming his dad, Antal, had died in 2001. The news came years after the professional dancer had cut ties with his father.
Anton's blunt reaction to the news
Anton told The Times: "I remember the phone ringing, and a chap on the other end went, 'Can I speak to Mrs Du Beke?' I went, 'She's not here.' He asked who I was, then told me my father had died. I went, 'Oh, excellent. OK. Thank you.' He was taken aback. 'Oh, would you not like any more information?' 'No, it's fine. Thank you. Bye.' It didn't resonate at all. I think I just left Mum a note."
The dancer's autobiography, Stepping in Time, details his life growing up in Sevenoaks, Kent. He grew up in a council house with his mother, Ascensión, who worked in a bus depot canteen and had escaped Franco's Spain. His father, Antal, a waiter, fled Hungary after the 1956 revolution.
Details of the stabbing incident
The BBC star had previously described his father as a violent alcoholic. On Boxing Day, when Anton was in his mid-twenties and on the phone to his dance teacher, he recalled his dad stabbing him in the leg and stomach. He managed to flag down a police car and was taken to hospital for treatment.
His parents divorced following the incident. "The police carted him off, [but] after [the stabbing] I never laid eyes on him again," he told The Times.
While he admittedly does not like to dwell on his upbringing, he recalled the moment he received the call confirming his father's death in 2001.
