Erin Boag, who was a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing with Anton du Beke, has quipped that he would have to be "fired" if he was to ever leave the programme(Image: PA)

Strictly Come Dancing legend told co-star 'they'd have to fire me' in bold admission

Erin Boag, who was a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing with Anton du Beke, has quipped that he would have to be "fired" if he was to ever leave the programme

by · DevonLive

Anton du Beke would never voluntarily leave Strictly Come Dancing, his professional dance partner Erin Boag has revealed.

Having transitioned from a professional dancer to a full-time judge on the show following Bruno Tonioli's departure, Anton's commitment to the series is such that he'd have to be "fired" by the producers to make an exit, according to Erin.

Erin, who herself is a former Strictly professional, shared an insight into Anton's tenure on the show. She told Spin Genie: "He was never going to leave as a professional dancer. It was very much the, 'you're going to have to fire me', quite frankly. I think everyone was just waiting for him to get a different position, because he deserved it, for sure.

"He's very professional, he's great at talking, and he's just that, I don't think you could fire him, because I think people would turn off. That sounds really horrible, but I think they would, because he's such a great character on the show."

Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag(Image: Gregory Michael King)

Erin also mentioned that Anton's extensive dancing experience on Strictly only primes him for greater success as a judge, reports Birmingham Live.

She added: "Professionally, what you have there is you have somebody who's been there for years, who has seen both sides, who knows what it's like to be danced with, somebody that's great, knows what it's like.

"Even more so because he's been given - putting it nicely - the most challenging partners, more than anybody else. As Craig has said, 'I've given out 10 ones, and my time, and six of them were to you', probably with Ann Widdecombe."

Anton was once a dancer on the show and is now a judge(Image: BBC)

Explaining how his time on the show has only made his judging skills better, she shared: "He is not only the most loved, and gains a lot of respect from the professionals, having been on both sides, having experienced what they've experienced. So he knows, as he's watching, if the professionals are in pain because their partner's forgotten their whole routine going around."

Erin further said that Anton earns respect from the show's professionals due to a shared understanding of their experiences.

During his tenure on the show, Anton dazzled the audience alongside a number of famous faces including Ruth Langsford, Kate Garraway, Patsy Palmer, Gillian Taylforth, Judy Murray, and Jacqui Smith.

*Strictly Come Dancing airs weekends on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.