Strictly star Anton Du Beke can't wait to get Christmassy in Nottingham

He smiled: “I’m a bit of a Christmas nut and I can’t think of anything better than sharing it with audiences up and down the country.”

The Strictly Come Dancing star promises the show will be a huge festive extravaganza full of fancy footwork, showbiz sparkle and joyful tunes featuring Anton himself, vocalist Lance Ellington and a troupe of professional dancers..

He enthused: “The costumes are exquisite, the band and Lance are incredible and the dancers are fabulous.

"It’s going to be Christmas, Christmas and more Christmas!”

Anton’s a seasoned pro in more ways than one, having done seasonal tours in 2024 and 2025, and there are a few winning moments he’s bringing back.

He said: “I’ll be getting the audience to join in with The 12 Days of Christmas, but it’s even bigger and better than before.

"I’m trying to get a snow machine organised and maybe lyric sheets for the audience so they can sing along, although I’m sure they know all the words already.”

Asked why he’s such a fan of the festive season, the smile turns into a full-wattage beam as 60-year-old explained: “It’s my favourite time of the year, and since I’ve had children it’s even more special and even more magical.”

He and his wife, marketing executive Hannah Summers, are parents to nine-year-old twins George and Henrietta.

In the run-up to the big day they ‘buy trees and decorate them, me and the children will go Christmas shopping for mummy and they and Hannah go shopping for daddy’.

And Christmas Day in the family’s Buckinghamshire home?

He said: “It’s epic, Hannah and I creep into the kids bedrooms the night before to hang up the Christmas stockings, then they’re up at the crack of dawn.

"We’ll visit family or vice-versa and we’re lucky that we’re all near each other as well, so there’s no four-hour drive to see Auntie Vera.”

Having made his pantomime debut as Buttons in Cinderella in 2021, Anton went on to play the titular hero in Jack and the Beanstalk the following year and Smee in Peter Pan in 2023.

He said: “But it took too much time out of the festive season, doing 12 shows a week and often two shows on the same day.

“I’d always wanted to do a Christmas show, so when I got to do that a couple of years ago it was a dream come true, and it means I can be home with the family at Christmas itself.”

It feels like Christmas has already started for Anton as he’s been putting the show together towards the tail end of a very busy year that has seen him appearing on the seventh series of The Masked Singer, penning his memoir Steps in Time - The Moments That Made Me and returning to the judges’ table alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

But it’s just what he wants.

He said: “ I love being busy and I love getting back into the studio to work on the choreography for a show like this year’s Christmas tour.”

Anton’s love for Yuletide stems from his childhood as the eldest of three siblings.

He recalled: “We didn’t get presents throughout the year, only on birthdays and at Christmas and it always felt like everybody would shop as though the world was coming to an end, with larders and fridges rammed full of food.”

The family would gather to watch festive specials by the likes of Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies.

And his favourite Christmas movie?

He said: "Scrooge with Albert Finney, it has one of my favourite festive songs in it, Thank You Very Much, which is featured in my show as a ‘thank you very much’ to the audience for coming along."

Anton got hooked on dancing as a teenager when he attended his local dance school.

A gifted sportsman as well, he divided his time between boxing, football and golf as well as studying ballet, contemporary, jazz and modern dance.

The dancing eventually won out and by age 17 he was competing on the amateur circuit.

In 1997 he met Erin Boag and they became dance partners, winning many national and international awards.

They turned professional in 2002 and were British National Finalists three years in a row, ranking as 14th among the world’s professional ballroom dancers when they were recruited for Strictly Come Dancing in 2004.

He’s been with the show ever since, joining the judging panel in 2021.

He said: “Every year I walk into the room and I immediately go, ‘wow, I’m so lucky’.

"It’s just as exciting for me now as it was when we started.

"I’ve gone from that sort of giddy early days thing to a real feeling of pride about being on Strictly.

"What I hope I bring to the table is my enthusiasm and love of the show and the experience that comes from the fact that I’ve been there since day one.”

Being on The Masked Singer as Arctic Fox is second only to Strictly on the list of his most enjoyable television jobs to date.

He admitted: “It was hot under the fake fox head but I always enjoy slipping on a costume.

“And singing songs by the likes of P!nk and Spandau Ballet has given me a whole new repertoire.

And speaking of singing, he has a Christmas single coming out this year, Dance My Way to Christmas which he’ll be performing for audiences in the show.

Anton At Christmas comes to Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall on December 20.

Visit trch.co.uk or call 0115 9895555 to book.