He has been dragged into the Strictly Come Dancing misconduct scandal after his ‘1970s-style behaviour’ with former dance partner Laila Rouass reportedly ‘raised concerns’.
But Anton Du Beke brushed off the recent drama as he was seen taking photographs with some eager admirers in Manchester on Sunday.
The judge, 58, appeared to be in good spirits as he made his way into the Lowry Theatre in Salford in a low-key ensemble consisting of a white polo neck and grey trousers.
However, it didn’t take long for excited fans to recognise him and he was soon stopped to snap some selfies.
The TV personality seemed to be unaffected after he was named as the ‘fourth star dragged into the misconduct probe’.
Anton Du Beke brushed off the recent Strictly drama as he was seen taking photographs with some eager admirers in Manchester on Sunday
The judge, 58, appeared to be in good spirits as he made his way into the Lowry Theatre in Salford in a low-key ensemble consisting of a white polo neck and grey trousers
During the 2009 series, he reduced contestant Laila, who is of Indian and Moroccan descent, to tears when he jokingly told her she ‘looked like a P***’ after a spray tan, with the comments resurfacing this week.
Anton apologised to Laila at the time and admitted he felt ‘stupid’ and ’embarrassed’ by his comments to the actress, with the duo making amends a few weeks later.
The professional dancer is in Manchester with Giovanni Pernice as the pair are on tour with their show, Anton and Giovanni: Together.
Giovanni, 33, quit the BBC show earlier this year and is currently suspended while a BBC probe is underway over claims of off-camera misconduct after complaints were filed by Amanda Abbington, 50, and several of his former celebrity dance partners.
As well as Giovanni, professional dancer Graziano Di Prima, 30, was axed from the show this week and later apologised for hitting and kicking his celebrity partner Zara McDermott, 27, during rehearsals last year.
Anton’s apearnce comes after Shirley Ballas and Ruth Langsford both showed their support to the Strictly star on Saturday.
Despite the ongoing investigation taking place, the two women took to social media to send their birthday wishes to Anton who was celebrating turning 58.
Head judge Shirley Ballas – who works closely alongside the Strictly veteran – took to her Instagram account to send her love on his special day.
It didn’t take long for excited fans to recognise him and he was soon stopped in order to take pictures with them
The TV personality seemed to be unaffected after he was named as the ‘fourth star dragged into the misconduct probe’ and happily obliged
Anton, who arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford for his tour stop, happily signed autographs and posed for photos with fans as he made his way into the venue
He has been dragged into the Strictly Come Dancing misconduct scandal after his ‘1970s-style behaviour’ with former dance partner Laila Rouass reportedly ‘raised concerns’
During the 2009 series, he reduced contestant Laila, who is of Indian and Moroccan descent, to tears when he jokingly told her she ‘looked like a P***’ after a spray tan, with the comments resurfacing this week.
Anton apologised to Laila at the time and admitted he felt ‘stupid’ and ’embarrassed’ by his comments to the actress, with the duo making amends a few weeks later
Shirley Ballas and Ruth Langsford both showed their support to Strictly star Anton Du Beke after he was named as the ‘fourth star dragged into the misconduct probe’
Posting a snap of the pair together, Shirley said: ‘Happiest of birthdays to the king @mrantondubeke. See you very soon.’
The star then shared a video of the two of them dancing on the floor of the BBC set, writing over the top ‘Throwback.’
Loose Woman host host Ruth also came out in support of Anton, who she was paired with during the 2017 series.
She shared a photo of the two of them together, when they were backstage on the show.
She gushed: ‘Happy birthday to the loveliest man and best partner EVER!’.
She then added: ‘Sending you a big birthday squeeze @mrantondubeke’.
Despite the ongoing investigation taking place, the two women took to their social media to send their birthday wishes to Anton
Loose Woman host Ruth Langsford also came out in support of Anton, who she was paired with during the 2017 series
The judge reduced contestant Laila Rouass (pictured) to tears during the 2009 series when he jokingly told her she ‘looked like a P***’ after her spray tan, with the comments resurfacing
Anton’s wife Hannah shared a heartfelt message to Anton alongside snaps of his six-year-old twins George and Henrietta.
She penned: ‘Happy birthday darling Anton Du Beke George, Ra Ra and I couldn’t love you more and can’t wait to celebrate when we’re all together! We will ring soon for a serenade…. Brace yourself for Granny! Happy birthday my darling. I love you. ❤️’
Reposting her message, he wrote: ‘What a perfect message to start my birthday morning. Thank you @hannah_du_beke. Can’t wait to celebrate with you all on Monday. Love you so much.’
Anton joined the BBC dancing show for its first series back in 2004.
He then became part of the judging panel in 2019 when Bruno Tonioli left.