Ruth Langsford's Cringe-Worthy Strictly Come Dancing Moment with Anton Du Beke
Ruth Langsford has confessed that a particular moment from her time on Strictly Come Dancing continues to make her cringe years later. The TV host, who appeared on the BBC show in 2017 alongside professional dancer Anton Du Beke, shared the embarrassing incident in her new book, Feeling Fabulous.
The Overzealous Celebration
In the book, Ruth explains that she desperately wanted to be partnered with Anton. When her name was called during the first show of the series, where celebrities are paired off, she over-celebrated the news. "They called out my name and there may have been a drum roll. I’m not sure I drew a single breath in that time, until they said I was partnered with . . . dramatic pause . . . 'Anton Du Beke!'" she writes.
Her calm walk towards him suddenly turned into an ungainly run, "like a cart-horse," and she launched herself at him. However, the leap did not go as planned. "Except I didn’t leap high enough so instead of hooking my legs around his waist, I ended up with them around his thighs, and he was hanging on to me for dear life," Ruth admits.
Inside, she was thinking, "Ruth! What the hell are you doing?! Don’t jump! You never jump. Oh, dear God, you’ve jumped . . ." It was too late, and she had to pretend it was intentional. "I can’t watch this back now because it makes me cringe," she adds.
Anton's Embellished Retelling
Anton Du Beke often recounts the story with added embellishments, including a part where he staggers backwards as she clings to him. He sometimes tells it at his theatre shows and once, when Ruth was in the audience, he got her up on stage to replay it. "He makes me howl with laughter," she says, highlighting their enduring friendship despite the awkward moment.
Overcoming Extreme Nerves and a Panic Attack
Ruth also details in the book how she had to overcome extreme nerves during rehearsals and experienced a panic attack on the first show. Of her stage fright, she writes, "As time passed, my nerves got worse and worse, and I had a deep sense of dread in the pit of my stomach."
Looking back, she said her "brain seemed to detach from her body" as she went down the stairs to get on the dance floor at the BBC. She was due to perform a waltz to ‘This Nearly Was Mine’ from the musical South Pacific.
"I was aware of just how many people were in the studio. I live and breathe live television so that wasn’t a problem, but I had never performed in front of a big audience before and I swear I could see the whites of their eyes," she explains.
She felt dizzy, couldn't move, and had no saliva in her mouth, making her smile more of a grimace. "My heart was beating so loudly I could hear it in my ears, and I was convinced the audience would be able to hear it, too," she adds.
Anton to the Rescue
Thankfully, just as she thought she might faint, Anton Du Beke picked her up and saved the day. She described the dance as "an out-of-body experience" and said that Anton carried her around the dancefloor "like a rag doll." It was much later that she realised she’d had a panic attack.
Despite the rocky start and cringe-worthy moments, Ruth Langsford made a friend for life in Anton and learned to love the show. Her book, Feeling Fabulous: Be your best self, no matter what life throws at you, is out now, published by Hodder & Stoughton.
