Kate Garraway’s Life Stories on ITV: Strictly judge Anton Du Beke says he was once stabbed by father

The judge Anton Du Beke has revealed that he was once stabbed by his father and had to spend three days in hospital.

Appearing on Kate Garraway’s Life Stories on ITV, the 57-year-old dancer said that his father stabbed him in the leg and stomach on Boxing Day at their family home in Kent.

Speaking of the incident, Du Beke said: “I got stabbed in the leg and in the stomach because of a fight on Boxing Day and it was an idiotic situation.

“I remember walking out of the house to walk up to the hospital holding my leg and a police car drove past and I waved them down and I said: ‘He’s in there with a knife.’

“Anyway, they carted him off and I ended up in hospital for three or four days. My only concern was getting back into the studio and dancing and the embarrassment of it.”

Speaking on The One Show ahead of the episode’s airing, Kate said Anton had “never wanted to let what happened to him define him in any way.”

When he was competing as a dancer he didn’t want to be pitied and he wanted to compete and be seen on the merits of his dancing,” she said.

“He didn’t want to give the bad stuff the oxygen, he feels very grateful and he wanted to celebrate that.

Holding back the tears as he recalled the incident, he continued: “…I got stabbed in the leg and in the stomach because of a fight on Boxing Day and it was an idiotic situation.

“I remember walking out of the house to walk up to the hospital holding my leg and a police car drove past and I waved them down and I said ‘he’s in there with a knife’.

"Anyway, they carted him off and I ended up in hospital for three or four days.

“My only concern was getting back into the studio and dancing and the embarrassment of it."

The Life Stories format, previously hosted by Piers Morgan, can sometimes feel too slick. Here, it worked perfectly. Du Beke opened up, giving occasional glimpses of a steely side, as when he apologised to former partner Erin Boag for being a hard taskmaster during their years in competition. The main impression left, though, was of a man with a remarkably upbeat outlook – unlike so many celebrities, he has absolutely no desire to wallow in past miseries but would rather look ahead. What a positive way to approach life.

Read more

Sarah H

Also on site :

• Hollywood mourns loss of beloved makeup artist Jasen Kaplan
• Rose Parade Viewers 'Floored' by 'Disaster' Finale Performance: 'Yikes'
• Rose Parade 2026 awards announced: Top honor goes to Cal Poly Universities