Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke has revealed that his dad used to beat him with a belt when he was a child. The dancer eventually cut ties with his dad and admitted he ‘didn’t care’ when his father died in 2001

Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke has revealed that his late father had been physically abusive towards him when he was a child.

The 54-year-old professional dancer, who has starred on BBC’s Strictly since the show began, has revealed that he “didn’t have a relationship” with his father and “didn’t care” when he died in 2001.

While Anton maintained that his Hungarian father Antal was never violent towards his mother or siblings, the dancer explained that he bore the brunt of his dad’s anger.

Speaking to The Times, Anton reflected on how his dad had beaten him with a belt and that he was often drunk.

“He was the hard, eastern European type. Heavy drinker, heavy smoker,” the Strictly star said during his interview.

“It was a different time and you’d have the belt taken to you and stuff like that.