Strictly’s Anton du Beke has expressed that the iconic BBC dance competition is ‘just not the same’ this year.
The 54-year-old professional and his partner Jacqui Smith were the first to be given the boot, last weekend, after coming bottom of the leaderboard two weeks in a row.
The dancing king has plenty of Strictly experience under his belt having been paired with huge celebrities over the course of his 16 years on the competition.
But this year, the magic just doesn’t match up to his previous stints on the BBC show.
Anton has said that the entire series feels flat due to the fact that the audience is absent this year thanks to the coronavirus.
Lifting the lid on this year’s changes, Anton revealed that being without an audience made him ‘the saddest he’s ever felt in his life’.
During a candid chat with Steph McGovern on Steph's Packed Lunch that the show, Anton said the atmosphere in studio wasn’t the same.
“I felt the saddest I've ever felt in my whole life” he admitted.
“Because there aren't any studio audience of course so the only people in the audience are the couples together around a little table, socially distanced from everyone else and then me…on my own at the back, sat there going "well done everyone".
'It's like saying "here you are, come – but you can't join in." I sat beautifully – I feel like I should have been remarked on that alone. But it was brilliant, it was a great night.”
Anton’s revelation comes after he swerved rumours of becoming the fourth judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
Fans are praying he will fill in for Bruno Tonioli who will miss the series due to working commitments in America.
But he swiftly shut down the question when asked by a fan during a live Q&A session with Mirror Online.
The Strictly favourite insisted: “There is no intention for them to whip me onto the judging panel, sadly.
"I've got a bit of time on my hands; I'd love to sit in for the rest of the series.
"But if we could start a petition for that and a knighthood, I'd like those two please."
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