Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke has shed light on his wife’s ‘cruel and inexplicable’ diagnosis.
The ballroom dancer and Strictly judge, 59, has been with the dancing reality competition right from the very beginning, starting as part of the pro lineup.
After the departure of Bruno Tonioli in 2022, Anton stepped up to become a replacement judge, joining Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Shirley Ballas.
And now, having taken his place on the judging panel three years ago, Anton has opened up about his wife’s devastating battle with endometriosis and how it affected their lives as parents.
The beloved BBC personality married marketing executive Hannah Summers in 2017, after first meeting at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey in 2012.
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They welcomed twins George and Henrietta after their wedding, following a successful bout of IVF treatment.
Yet, speaking on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, Anton shared Hannah’s fears about being able to have a baby due to her crippling endometriosis.
The condition is described as the process ‘where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb (uterus) grow in other parts of the body’.
Anton said: ‘I knew I wanted to be with her. I saw her with her nephews. She’s so kind and so caring; I just couldn’t understand the universe.’
‘Whoever is upstairs, if anyone’s upstairs, looking down and going, “You are the most perfect person to have children, but I’m not going to let you have any children because I’m going to give you this”.
‘And I’m going to say, “You’re going to have this endometriosis, and you’re going to suffer with this all of your life, chronically, and I’m not going to let you have any children”.
‘I thought that was peculiar, cruel, and inexplicable and unforgivable. And if ever I go up to somewhere and meet this person, I would say, “I think you’re not OK with decisions like this; this doesn’t make any sense to me”.’
Anton went on to discuss how health services need to educate people more about endometriosis and highlighted how there should be increased government funding for women’s health services.
‘We went through the process of IVF, well, for crying out loud. You girls are extraordinary,’ he said. ‘As much as I want to get involved, all I can do is hold your hand. It makes me emotional every time I talk about it. The injections, the stress. I have anxiety and stress, but it’s not my body.
‘She has these injections and the bruises in the bum, in the thigh, in the stomach. And you’re trying to help, but what can you do? Whatever you want, tell me and I’ll do it, but that’s all you have, and it’s horrendous as a man to watch it.
‘You feel so inadequate, and you want to do so much more, but I can’t do anything. And that’s why you girls are so extraordinary; you’re extraordinary that you do all this stuff.’
Anton’s comments came after he revealed his ‘best Strictly memory ever’ with Bruce Forsyth. Speaking about Sir Bruce, Anton has hailed him as a ‘hero’, saying that finally getting to meet one of his TV idols was everything he could have wished for.
He told The Telegraph: ‘[My favourite celebrity encounter] has always been Sir Bruce Forsyth. Meeting Sir Bruce. He’s my hero, to be honest with you. He was such a brilliant entertainer, and he was everything I wished and wanted him to be.
‘They say never meet your heroes, but that has never been further from the truth for me. He was absolutely incredible. Generous, kind, funny, helpful… Just the most incredible man, really.’
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