HAVING A MAGICAL TIME WITH THE FAMILY AT LAPLANDUK ANTON DU BEKE ON THE JOYS OF PARENTHOOD AND WHY HE’D BE ‘DELIGHTED’ TO RETURN AS A ‘STRICTLY’ JUDGE NEXT YEAR
‘My children were in awe, which is exactly what you want them to be’
As he leads his family through a snowy forest, it’s difficult to tell who’s the most excited about their day trip to LaplandUK – Anton Du Beke or his four-year-old twins, George and Henrietta. “It’s a magical experience, I can’t tell you,” the affable Strictly Come Dancing judge reveals to HELLO! with typical enthusiasm when we catch up the week before the much-anticipated final of the BBC hit show. “I love Christmas anyway, especially when it’s done this well.”
He’s a difficult man to pin down. Having swapped for the judging panel, replacing Bruno Tonioli on Britain’s biggest TV entertainment programme, Anton has a packed schedule, which also includes playing Buttons in the pantomime at the Richmond Theatre in London. But the opportunity to experience the festive charms of LaplandUK with his beloved family, including his wife Hannah, was one he couldn’t miss. Deep in Whitmoor Forest in Berkshire, the legend of Father Christmas and his elves is brought to life in a winter wonderland with reindeer and huskies, toy making and ice skating and, of course, a meeting with the big, bearded man himself.
