I never laid eyes on my father again after he stabbed me – Anton Du Beke

Anton Du Beke has said he “never laid eyes” on his father again after the dancer was stabbed by him in his mid-twenties.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 60, was raised in Sevenoaks, Kent, by his mother Ascension, from Spain, and his father, Antal, from Hungary.

In his new book, Steps in Time: The Moments that Made Me, Du Beke describes a difficult relationship with his dad, who he said was a violent alcoholic.

On one Boxing Day, Du Beke said he was on the phone with his dance teacher when he was stabbed in the leg and stomach by his father.

Anton Du Beke was on the phone with his dance teacher when he was stabbed in the leg and stomach by his father (Yui Mok/PA)

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He then staggered outside and flagged down a police car.

Speaking to The Times, he said: “The police carted him off, [but] after [the stabbing] I never laid eyes on him again.”

Du Beke said he felt “embarrassed” by the incident and told people that he had torn a hamstring.

Du Beke, who does not drink himself, said: “I don’t want people to think it defines me, but everybody’s an armchair psychologist.

“They go, ‘Oh, I see!’ No, I promise, you don’t see. I don’t drink. Before people know my father’s an alcoholic they go, ‘He doesn’t drink’. Now it’s, ‘I know why!’ Not the case.

“I tried drinking when I was 17 and was sick all over the place. Two pints of beer, head spinning, the whole thing.

Anton Du Beke said he felt ’embarrassed’ by the incident and told people that he had torn a hamstring (Ian West/PA)

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“I’ve got no constitution and it’s hugely expensive. I’d rather spend the money on dancing lessons.”

Du Beke’s father died in 2001, with the dancer informed about it over the phone.

He said it “didn’t resonate at all” and he left a note for his mother to let her know.

Du Beke said he is not bothered about his troubled relationship with his father these days, saying: “I have to move on.”

The dancer has been on Strictly Come Dancing since series one and became part of the judging panel in series 19.

He is married to Hannah Summers, with the couple parents to nine-year-old twins George and Henrietta.