Ruth Langsford has opened up about her time on Strictly Come Dancing, revealing that she frequently felt “really rubbish” and would “always burst into tears” behind-the-scenes.
Ruth Langsford has disclosed that whilst her former dance partner Anton Du Beke may appear to be “a laugh”, there’s another side to his character that Strictly Come Dancing fans might not recognise.
In an exclusive chat, the former This Morning presenter confessed that she frequently felt “really rubbish” backstage, as she measured herself against other competitors, including Debbie McGee and Gemma Atkinson, who had advanced to become “so good” on the dance floor.
Luckily, Ruth had the backing of Strictly professional-turned-judge Anton, who provided a shoulder to lean on during her difficult moments, describing their bond as “the best thing” to emerge from her time on the BBC programme.
The Loose Women host revealed: “I always want people to know that, Anton’s such a laugh – he’s laugh, laugh, laugh – but he’s the kindest man.”
As the show progressed, Ruth continued, “I was always bursting into tears because it gets difficult and everyone is so good, and then I would feel really bad because I would think, “I can’t do it.” And he’d go, ‘ you’re fine'”.
He never criticized me, but he was just fun, and in fact, sometimes we’d step and he’d say, “that’s good,” and I’d go, “oh thanks,” and he said, “it’s not what I taught you, but it’s good!” And he was the only one who laughed” .
Ruth later made it known that Anton had the perfect technique for easing her nerves in the rehearsal room.
She recalled that if he ever said, “No, no, because we’re supposed to be going right,” and then he looked at me and yelled, “right, come on, cup of tea!” as I was about to cry, he would be like, “oh no!” The nicest man, to be honest.
Ruth was also brimming with praise for Anton’s abilities as part of Strictly’s judging panel, where he has been seated alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse since 2021.
However, Anton’s elevation on Strictly means he won’t be able to compete anymore, which Ruth believes is the only drawback because she would like to “have another go” with her mate along with her.
She remarked, “Let me try again with Anton!” Because he is a judge, I can’t right now.
I’m so happy that he’s a judge, he’s a very good judge, but I’m always told to, “I think they should let you have another go, I think I’d do it better!” ‘”.
