Exclusive:
Anton Du Beke opened up about his major golfing passion away from Strictly Come Dancing – and admitted he ‘would have taken it up’ in place of dancing
Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke considered becoming a pro golfer before choosing a career on the dancefloor.
But the 58-year-old star, who plays off a handicap of one, is now drawing on his passion for golf in a new podcast Putt And Strut, which he co-hosts with Sky Sports presenter Sarah Stirk.
He says: “I could quite happily have taken it up as a profession if I’d stumbled into it before dance, because the two are very similar. You’re always striving for the next level. You can’t perfect golf, and dancing is the same thing.”
He has no doubt being a dancer has helped improve his game. He says: “There’s an element of correlation between golf and dance in motion, timing , rhythm and movement. It’s about the hips.”
“I would have taken up golf with the same mentality as the dancing – but it remains to be seen if I’d have made any money with it.”
He and Sarah, 46, who put Mirror man Tom through his paces on a golf simulator, hope to get more women involved in golf through their podcast, which will feature celebrity guests, such as tennis coach Judy Murray and actor James Nesbitt.
Anton says: “It’s that hurdle, that intimidatory factor. Everybody feels like it’s a very male-orientated sport, and it sort of is, but not.” Anton, who has seven-year-old twins with wife Hannah, says being on the golf course is good for his work.
He says: “I don’t do any sort of work at home… because of the children. So when I get on to the golf course, it’s great. It’s where I do everything. I learn lyrics, I think about dance styles, putting shows together.”
Some of his favourite golf memories are of playing with his “great hero”, the late Bruce Forsyth. He says: “We played a lot of golf and not once did he let me win.”
*Anton and Sarah’s new podcast Putt & Strut is available to listen to from Friday 21st February on Global Player and all major podcast platforms .
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