Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton du Beke nearly ‘froze to death’ after chilling incident
Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton du Beke has recalled how he feared he would die when an adventure trip took a turn towards disaster.
The 58-year-old dance star – who shot to fame on Strictly as a professional when the show began in 2004 before advancing to the judges table in 2021 – has revealed that lacks skills when it comes to snow sports. While Anton has built an impressive career with his dancing abilities, when it comes to skiing, he admits he is a novice.
Undeterred, however, the Saturday night prime time entertainer has explained that he threw himself into the challenge of a winter sport holiday with his family. However, this led to near disaster as he found himself marooned on the side of the mountain and fearing he would freeze to death.
The TV star has told all as part of his new podcast, titled Putt and Strutt, revealing that he is too afraid to go skiing as he does not want to risk injuring his career-making legs. His family, however, are keen winter sport enthusiasts, so he usually joins them on the mountain, but doesn’t take part in the activities.
He explained: “I don’t ski, so I just went along. It’s a horrible holiday to go along on if you don’t ski. I have no interest, and I’m so fearful of the old pins.” Moving the story along, Anton explained that he ‘wandered’ down a snowy mountain only to become stuck in the snow – finding himself waist-deep in the white stuff. Recounting his ordeal, he said: “They went up the ski lift back up to the top. Not that far, maybe a few hundred metres. And I thought ‘I won’t get on the thing, I’ll have a wander – I’ll walk up… I won’t take [the chair lift], I’ll walk up.
“And you might ask why, bearing in mind I hadn’t got the gear on. I think I had a pair of jeans on. I had a snowshoe, just like a tennis racket on the bottom of the shoes, just like a normal trainer really, but you can walk on slippery surfaces with it, but you can’t walk in waist-deep snow in them.”
Explaining his situation further, Anton revealed that he quickly feared the worst could happen to him. He said: “I got halfway up and got a bit stuck. I was like, ‘This is so embarrassing’. I’ve walked up a hill of snow – everybody else is skiing in all the gear. I had visions of me being rescued on the side of this hill. It was so humiliating. I forced myself to walk up. I froze to death, I was wet – one of the most humiliating things ever.”
Anton announced his new podcast earlier this month – which he co-hosts with a fellow TV star. He wrote in an online post about the new audio production: “I’m delighted to welcome you to ‘Putt & Strut’ – the golf podcast that looks at the lighter side of the game. Each week, myself along with super Sky Sports presenter Sarah Stirk will be bringing you the latest news from the golfing world – as well as inviting some famous faces along the way to share their love.”
Putt & Strut with Anton Du Beke and Sarah Stirk is available to listen to on Global Player, and all major podcast platforms with new episodes airing on Fridays.
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