Strictly Come Dancing 2015: Anton Du Beke ‘joyous’ ahead of first semi-final in 11 years
ANTON DU BEKE has said he is jubilant at making it through to only his second ever Strictly Come Dancing semi-final - and his first since the original series way back in 2004.
Anton Du Beke and Katie Derham could make the final
He polled third place with Lesley Garrett in the first series, which ran for only eight weeks in 2004, and has not made it this far in the competition since.
His other partners have included Jerry Hall, Nancy Dell'Olio, Judy Murray and Ann Widdecombe, who either left the competition rapidly or continually finished at the bottom of the judges' leaderboard.
Now, he's dancing with Katie Derham and - if they survive this weekend's show - he'll be in the finale for the first time ever.
"It's really fun," he said on It Takes Two tonight. "I can't even begin to tell you. Dancing in December! Who knew? I thought the whole thing packed up after Blackpool.
Katie and Anton have performed consistently well
He's NEVER been in the final
Actually, its been just joyous. Everybody is so supportive and so lovely
"Actually, its been just joyous. Everybody is so supportive and so lovely, and just really enjoying the run. They think Katie is some kind of magician."
On their prospects of making the final, Katie said: "If it happens, fantastic. If it doesn't: semi-finals. Boom.
"But four of us are going through, so it's not bad odds."
Anton finished third with Lesley and later came fourth with Laila Rouass in 2009, but in those years only two couples made it to the final - whereas now the Top 4 will be there until the final episode.
The pair have obvious chemistry
As it stands, the pair are second-to-last favourites to win, with 20/1 odds from Boylesports. Only Kellie Bright and Kevin Clifton are ranked lower, on 40/1.
Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani remain strong frontrunners on 1/3, while Georgia May Foote has drifted out to 8/1 after being in the dance-off and Anita Rani has been cut to 11/1.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6:50pm.