Anton Du Beke seemed unperturbed in an online appearance that came just hours after news broke that he was thought to be the latest Strictly Come Dancing star to have been caught up in the BBC probe.
The judge, 57, was reported to be bracing himself for a legal complaint over historic allegations that came from one of his former dance partners, Laila Rouass.
According to The Mirror, the judge has been named to lawyers Carter Ruck by his former partner, who he was paired with in 2009.
Du Beke was a professional dancer on the show and, having starred in the competition since the very first series in 2004, he has been paired with many celebrities until 2021 when he hung up his dance shoes and joined the judging panel.
The publication reported Rouass’ complaint to lawyers is about an offensive remark made by the dancer in which he said she looked like “a p**i” in 2009 following a spray tan. He later apologised.
Hours reports about his potential involvement in the BBC probe, Du Beke appeared in dancer Giovanni Pernice’s Instagram Story, laughing and joking with his former co-star – who has now left the show after his partner from last year, Amanda Abbington, sparked the ongoing investigation.
Anton Du Beke was seen laughing and joking alongside Giovanni Pernice following reports of his involvement in the BBC probe
Pernice, 33, shared a clip to his social media account on Friday night, showing he and Du Beke on stage laughing and joking with each other.
The duo were taking part in the latest show of their live tour, and after appearing cheerful on stage, Du Beke announced: “Here we are in Doncaster, oh it’s so nice and the weather’s been lovely and unfortunately, nobody has come to see the show…”
The pair then turned around to mass applause from a huge crowd as Du Beke and Pernice said in unison: “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Pernice added an animated “sold out” sign to the clip.
Meanwhile, the resurfaced 2009 remark from Du Beke has sparked speculation he will also be caught up in the current scandal.
Du Beke stated at the time: “I must say immediately and categorically that I am not a racist and that I do not use racist language.
Anton Du Beke is thought to be the latest name caught up in the BBC Strictly Come Dancing scandal
BBC
“During the course of rehearsals Laila and I have exchanged a great deal of banter entirely in jest, and two weeks ago there was an occasion when this term was used between the two of us.
“There was no racist intent whatsoever but I accept that it is a term which causes offence and I regret my use of it, which was done without thought or consideration of how others would react. I apologise unreservedly for any offence my actions might have caused.”
Actress Rouass, who has an Indian mother and a Moroccan father, accepted his apology. She said at the time: “It was a situation which happened that we have moved on from and I accept his apology.”
However, the probe is understood to be intensifying pressure at the BBC after the show has come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks.
Pernice was confirmed to have left the show following Abbington’s accusations after she quit the series mid-way through in the 2023 show.
Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice laughed and joked during the Docaster stop of their tour
Last week, Graziano Di Prima became the next to be impacted by the probe after he was also axed following some “distressing” footage from his rehearsals with Zara McDermott last year.
The BBC has continued to decline to comment on the saga, citing that it never comments on “individual cases”.
A spokesperson did conclude: “However, as we have said previously we will always listen if people want to make us aware of something or raise it with us directly and we have appropriate procedures and processes in place to manage this.”
GB News has approached Du Beke’s representatives for a comment.