Anton

Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has opened up about his wife Hannah Summers’ battle with endometriosis and the couple’s IVF journey to parenthood

Strictly judge Anton Du Beke has opened up about his wife’s agonising battle with endometriosis and how it affected their journey to parenthood.

The BBC favourite married marketing executive Hannah Summers in 2017, having first met at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey back in 2012. The pair welcomed twins George and Henrietta soon after tying the knot, following IVF treatment.

But Anton revealed on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy mum Happy Baby podcast that Hannah had doubts about their ability to conceive because of her crippling condition.

The professional dancer admitted he “couldn’t understand the universe” after witnessing Hannah’s bond with her nephews, before opening up about their IVF experience.

He said: “I knew I wanted to be with her, I saw her with her nephews. She’s so kind and so caring, I just couldn’t understand the universe.”, reports Lancs Live, reports Wales Online.

“And whoever is upstairs, if anyone’s upstairs, looking down and going ‘you are the most perfect person to have children, but I’m not going to let you have any children because I’m going to give you this’.

“And I’m going to say ‘you’re going to have this endometriosis, and you’re going to suffer with this all of your life, chronically, and I’m not going to let you have any children.

“I thought that was peculiar, cruel, and inexplicable and unforgivable. And if ever I go up to somewhere and meet this person I would say ‘I think you’re not OK with decisions like this, this doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Anton has candidly spoken about the hurdles he and wife Hannah encountered during their fertility treatment, which ultimately brought them closer together.

The couple were blessed when the treatment worked first time, resulting in the birth of twins George and Henrietta in 2017, with their nuptials taking place later that same year.

In an emotional chat with Giovanna, Anton admitted his previous lack of understanding about endometriosis and highlighted the urgent need for increased government funding in women’s health.

Reflecting on their journey, he shared: “Then we went through the process of IVF, well crying out loud. You girls are extraordinary. As much as I want to get involved, all I can do is hold your hand. It makes me emotional every time I talk about it. The injections, the stress, the anxiety. I have anxiety and stress but it’s not my body.

“She has these injections and the bruises in the bum, in the thigh, in the stomach. And you’re trying to help but what can you do? Whatever you want, tell me and I’ll do it but that’s all you have and it’s horrendous as a man to watch it.

“You feel so inadequate and you want to do so much more but I can’t do anything. And that’s why you girls are so extraordinary, you’re extraordinary that you do all this stuff.”

Ruth Langsford has opened up about her time on Strictly Come Dancing, admitting that she often felt ‘really rubbish’ and would ‘always burst into tears’ behind-the-scenes

Ruth Langsford has disclosed that whilst her former dance partner Anton Du Beke may appear to be “a laugh”, there’s another side to his character that Strictly Come Dancing fans might not recognise.

In an exclusive chat, the former This Morning presenter confessed that she frequently felt “really rubbish” backstage, as she measured herself against other competitors, including Debbie McGee and Gemma Atkinson, who had advanced to become “so good” on the dance floor.

Luckily, Ruth had the backing of Strictly professional-turned-judge Anton, who provided a shoulder to lean on during her difficult moments, describing their bond as “the best thing” to emerge from her time on the BBC programme.

The Loose Women host revealed: “I always want people to know that, Anton’s such a laugh – he’s laugh, laugh, laugh – but he’s the kindest man.”

Ruth added: “I was always bursting into tears as the show went on, because it gets hard and everyone’s so good, and then I would feel really rubbish because I would think, ‘I can’t do it’. And he’d go, ‘you’re fine’.”

“I felt like I was letting him down, but he never criticised me, he was just fun, and in fact, sometimes we’d do a step and he’d say, ‘that’s good’ and I’d go, ‘oh thanks’ and he’d say, ‘it’s not what I taught you, but it’s good!’ And he just made me laugh!”.

Ruth proceeded to disclose that Anton possessed the ideal technique to soothe her nerves when things weren’t working out in the rehearsal studio.

She remembered: “If he ever said, ‘no, no, because we’re supposed to be going right’, and then he’d look at me, and my bottom lip would start to tremble, and I’m about to cry, he’d be like, ‘right, come on, cup of tea!’ Honestly, the nicest man.”

Ruth was also brimming with praise for Anton’s abilities as part of Strictly’s judging panel, where he has been seated alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse since 2021.

Nevertheless, Anton’s elevation on Strictly means he won’t be able to take part in the competition anymore, which Ruth believes is the sole drawback, as she would be keen to “have another go” with her mate alongside her.

She declared: “Let me have another go with Anton! I can’t now, because he’s a judge.

“I’m so delighted he’s a judge, he’s a very good judge, but I always say to him, ‘I think they should let you have another go, I think I’d be better at it!'”.

Ruth just missed out on reaching Blackpool with Anton in 2017, after facing the feared dance-off against Jonnie Peacock and Oti Mabuse, whilst Joe McFadden and Katya Jones ultimately claimed the Glitterball Trophy that year.

But Judge Anton insisted it was not a problem as viewers always grow to love the line ups of long running BBC series

TV judge Anton Du Beke has admitted that he does not recognise many of the stars picked for Strictly Come Dancing these days. Echoing public criticism that the BBC dance show’s line-up can sometimes lack a little lustre or the big names of previous years, he admitted the first time he would see some of them could be on the ballroom.

Anton said: “When I first started, we sort of knew them, but now as you get older… there are a number of people on the show that I am not familiar with.” Speaking of last year’s model contestant Tasha Ghouri, he added: “I mean last year, Tasha? I did not know Tasha. No, I don’t know a number of people on the show.”

But he has got used to being a bit baffled, as more online personalities are introduced onto the show, explaining: “You don’t know who they are, but that is normal.”

He said of the 25-year-old YouTuber taking to the dancefloor for 2025: “There is that lovely boy George Clarke doing it this year. I thought it was the buildings fella, George Clarke the architect.”

And although he has now watched performances by the contestants who will be strutting their stuff on telly from this Saturday, he hasn’t seen enough to pick a winner.

Anton, 59, recalled how he was asked for an early opinion at the recording of the launch show and said: “They made it down the stairs unaided. I don’t know what you want me to say. Ask me next week when they have danced a bit.”

This year’s 15 celebrities include four reality TV stars: Vicky Pattison, 37, Thomas Skinner, 34, Dani Dyer, 29, and La Voix, 45. There are four sports stars too: sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, 37, footballers Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, 53, and Karen Carney, 38, and rugby union’s Chris Robshaw, 39.

It is actors who make up the biggest group, with five: Stefan Dennis, 66, Alex Kingston, 62, Balvinder Sopal, 46, Ellie Goldstein, 23, and Lewis Cope, 30. There is also presenter Ross King, 63, and YouTuber George.

Speaking at an event to launch his new novel, Monte Carlo by Moonlight, Anton said he will soon be reading the celebrities’ body language. He said of judging: “As I sit ther,e I know exactly what has been going on. I can see by this routine what sort of a week you have had and I laugh.

“If they start at the top of the stairs and walk down, they have had a very difficult week, like they are wasting as much time as they can until they get on the floor and have to take hold. The waltz is always lovely to judge. You can always see how good and bad their week has been by how long they stay ‘in hold’.”

After years of grumbles that contestants with dance experience – such as Lewis Cope – have a head start, Anton conceded it is tru,e but that the advantage is only slight. “It will help them a bit. I have not seen many of those who have actually won.”

And he had some tips for the professionals, too. “Learn that it is not about you. I was always aware of that. It is not my name they say first. It is the celebrity’s name.” Anton, who has eight-year-old twins with wife Hannah, also urged BBC bosses to tweak the rules on voting.

This year voting via premium phone lines has been axed and instead viewers have a brief opportunity on Saturday nights to vote online. But Anton thinks voting should go on all week, as many Strictly Come Dancing fans catch up on iPlayer.

He said: “I remember when we started the show, you could vote all week. Now you have a little window, and that is a shame because some people can’t watch it on a Saturday night.

“They might be working or may go out. I would like people to be able to vote during the week as everyone is invested even if they watch it on catch-up, so give them the opportunity to vote.”

And as for the show’s enduring popularity as it enters its 23rd series, he said: “The show works because we re-cast it every year and now we have a couple of new pros. There is an extraordinary amount of enthusiasm for it. The room is always enthused and I think that transfers to people watching it.

“You can like it for different reasons. You can like it for the frocks, the group dances, the couples or want to see how people are getting on. You can like the judges – or not like the judges!”

* The launch show of the new series of Strictly Come Dancing is on at 6.40pm on Saturday on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.

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Leeds United have signed Germany midfielder Anton Stach from Hoffenheim in a deal worth £17m.

The 26-year-old, who has two international caps, has joined on a four-year contract.

Stach becomes the sixth summer signing for Leeds, who were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship last season.

He follows Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jaka Bijol, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Lukas Nmecha and Sean Longstaff in joining manager Daniel Farke’s squad for the 2025-26 campaign.

“I am excited to join such a good team, such a good Premier League team, and I am looking forward to the next season,” said Stach, who is 6ft 4in.

“My style of play, I would say I am an aggressive player. I am good in duels. I am good at anticipating passes from the opponents and it would be good for the Premier League. Now we will see, I will try my best.”