Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has revealed how he nearly abandoned his dance career before a crucial opportunity arose on the hit TV show.

Starting his dance journey relatively late in life, the 58-year-old admitted he was a "lunatic" who was "obsessed" with winning and proving himself.

He began competing with fellow professional dancer Erin Boag, and after meeting in 1997, they went on to claim the 1998 and 1999 New Zealand Championships.

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Turning pro three years later, they continued to rack up successes. However, Anton confessed he would get "upset" when they didn't win or received negative feedback, which sometimes left him feeling "depressed".

Recalling a particularly tough moment, he said: "I remember we did a competition, a big competition. We did the French Open in Paris and did really badly. I mean, so badly, in this competition and I was really depressed about the whole thing.

"We weren't getting on very well. Everything was a battle. We had not a penny, you know, I earned £100 a week and spent £120."

Discussing his struggles on Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast, Anton added: "Everything was horrendous. Danced badly, not doing very well in competitions and that was everything to me."

He admitted to having "an internal crisis" where he contemplated quitting his career before ultimately deciding against it, recalling: "[I remember] thinking to myself, 'I'm going to have to chuck this in because I'm wasting my life'."

The father-of-two then realised that he didn't have a passion for anything else, so he decided to persevere and put in more effort, reports .

As his recognition grew, he was offered the role of a professional dancer on , which kicked off in 2004.

After several years twirling around the dance floor with numerous celebrity partners, he secured a spot on the judging panel in 2021.

Alongside judge Craig Revel Horwood, the duo are the longest-serving stars of the show, sharing judging responsibilities with and Motsi Mabuse.

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