‘It's going to be tremendous!'

Anton Du Beke on this year’s hotly contested final and why he can’t wait for the Christmas special…

- STEVEN PERKINS & VICTORIA WILSON

STRICTLY COME DANCING

FINAL SAT 18 DEC / BBC1 / 7PM / ENTERTAINMENT

NEW CHRISTMAS DAY / BBC1 / 5.10PM / ENTERTAINMENT

Santa Claus has not one but two fab-yule-ous presents for fans of Strictly Come Dancing this Christmas.

After 13 weeks of perfect pasos and sizzling sambas, our remaining celebrities and professional partners take to the floor in the series 19 finale on Saturday 18 December in the hope of waltzing away with the coveted Glitterball trophy.

Then, on Christmas Day, hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are back with a seasonal special that will see six new famous faces (see right) tripping the light fantastic.

Here, in an exclusive interview, judge Anton Du Beke, 55 – who can also be seen as Buttons in Cinderella at London’s Richmond Theatre until 2 January 2022 – chats to TV Times about the 2021 series and beyond…

How excited are you about the Strictly Come Dancing final?

It’s going to be a tremendous final because we’ve had such a high level of dancing! The great thing is that the leader board has been so volatile; someone who has been bottom one week has gone straight to the top the following week. That will make the final really exciting.

What are your standout performances so far?

AJ Odudu’s waltz [to Edelweiss from The Sound of Music in Musicals Week] was incredible, and Rose Ayling-Ellis has done tremendous ballroom dances.