Anton Du Beke didn’t hold back as he cheekily mocked former celebrity contestants who once took part in Strictly Come Dancing.

While discussing his book series during a chat with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, who were at the helm of ITV’s This Morning this Wednesday (September 25), the conversation turned to the present series of the BBC One show, which recently kicked off its competitive streak.

Presenter Cat launched the discussion by saying: “Got to talk about it – the start of the show was just phenomenal, wasn’t it? ” To which Anton Du Beke enthused: “It was so good! There’s so many wonderful characters on the show and the dancing was really quite good.”

Ben then teased with, “Really quite good? ” leading Anton to joke about past series’ beginners with a brutal swipe as he recalled some celebrity participants – which he refused to explicitly name.

Anton Du Beke is back on the Strictly judging panel and commented this year’s series of the show ( 
Image:
PA)

“No, because it’s week one, normally they’re awful! I’ve danced with some who couldn’t even remember their own names, let alone the steps!”, he said. Anton hyped up the upcoming weekend further: “There was some fantastic dancing at the weekend, this weekend is going to be really interesting. This is the first weekend it gets really serious and someone goes home, it’s week two, first elimination!”

In a twist of events for the ongoing contest, Nick Knowles has been in the limelight after sustaining a painful injury while changing a tyre, resulting in his arm being in a sling. The 62-year-old DIY SOS presenter has updated fans regarding his participation, saying he must rest although his team is doing their utmost to keep him in the competition, reports the Express.

On his journey to rehearsals with dance partner Luba Mushtuk, Nick took to Instagram to share: “It’s been an interesting few days, that’s for sure. I’ve seen a load of people, I’ve got a load of people trying to make everything work for me.”

He continued, “I’m feeling good, arm’s in a sling still to make sure that it’s rested when I’m not using it. But today I’m going to try and dance and see what my capabilities are. Luba is trying to prepare a dance that will work for me.”

Nick expressed his anticipation about the upcoming decision on whether he’ll be able to perform on Saturday, saying, “It’s a big day for me. I’m really really hoping that we find out that I can dance on Saturday. I’d really like to stay part of the competition, so keep your fingers crossed for me.”

During an appearance on the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show It Takes Two on Monday night, Nick revealed he had sustained an injury, as evidenced by the sling he wore during the interview. He recounted the ‘painful’ incident that occurred while he was on his way to a family gathering to celebrate his birthday.

Nick described the unfortunate event, saying, “I went to get my 10-year-old son and bring him back to the party but we broke down on the motorway with a flat tyre, and it was raining and there were big lorries going past, so I tried to do it quickly and change the tyre quickly. As I took the tyre off, I basically damaged my bicep and damaged my arm.”

Additionally, Nick updated his followers about his condition on Instagram on Monday, mentioning his trip to Harley Street in London “to get a scan done and to get some top medical advice”.