Anton Du Beke has bravely opened up in a shocking new interview to reveal he was stabbed by his father as a child.
The popular TV figure – who has been a mainstay on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing since 2004 as both a pro dancer and now a judge – has sat down with presenter Kate Garraway for her new Life Stories interview series this week to give a previously-unrevealed glimpse into his childhood and some of the traumatic things he experienced.
Seen fighting to hold back tears as he spoke, the 57-year-old told Garraway that his father Antal “took a turn” against him after being gripped by alcoholism, and even went as far as to stabbing him when he was living at their family home on a council estate in Kent.
Du Beke revealed that his father stabbed him in the stomach and leg on Boxing Day one time, and admitted that he has “never said this out loud before”.
Anton Du Beke on Kate Garraway’s Life Stories / Credit: ITV
“The alcoholism and the violence… [it was] towards me,” Du Beke told Garraway as he opened up, “Because I was a boy, a young man I suppose.
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“You’ve got an alcoholic father and a situation where if you’re in the house [he’s] drinking then you end up with the fights and stuff. You’d move room to get away from all of it and then he follows you in and the next thing you know the violence starts and then it came to a head one evening.”
Escaping after the attack, Du Beke confirmed that he managed to flag-down a police car as he walked to the nearest hospital clutching his leg.
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Despite the shocking nature of the incident, the professional dancer admitted to Garraway that he never told his wider family and circle of friends about the attack as he was “embarrassed” about it, and explained that he also never saw any benefit of speaking out.
Strictly Come Dancing star Anton du Beke has revealed he was stabbed by his late father.
'Speaking out will help people who have been victims of terrible domestic abuse.' @Kevin_Maguire
Viewers were informed that Du Beke’s father was cleared in court of the attack, and when he died, Du Beke did not attend his funeral.
In the aftermath of the event, the then-aspiring dancer decided to change his name “from Tony Beke, who grew up on a council estate” to “Anton Du Beke, The Show Man”.
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“I wanted a new start and a new beginning,” he said.
“I wanted to leave what went before, behind, and then move on with the rest of my life, I just wanted to be me.”
Anton Du Beke’s episode of Kate Garraway’s Life Stories airs tonight on ITV at 9pm.
Featured Image – ITV
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Five Greater Manchester-based artists we’ve been listening to this month | December 2025
Danny Jones
This is it: the last Greater Manchester music round-up of the year, only a couple of days late due to a mix of the post-NYE 48-hour hangover and quite possibly still being in a largely mince pie-induced food coma.
In all seriousness, 2025 has been an absolute belter not just for music but the North, in particular, and especially here in Manchester.
We know we say it all the time, but we really are blessed and well beyond lucky to live in one of the creative and audio capitals on planet Earth.
So, for one last time (an Audio North encore, if you will), please give it up for the amazing musicians based in and around Greater Manchester that we were listening to in December.
Five local artists we’ve been listening to this past month
1. Concrete Club
First off is some deeply satisfying British indie in the shape of Concrete Club – a fitting name for a band based in an ever-growing metropolis, swept up in a sea of cranes and never-ending construction. Intentional? Unsure, but given they formed in 2022, it makes sense and sounds as good as they do.
Vocally, it can take a minute to get used to frontman and bassist Jonny Brewster’s approach, as it swings between everything from Fran from Red Rum Club, Brandon Flowers and White Lies’ Harry McVeigh. There’s some serious range on show, and it makes seeing where each track goes next exciting in itself.
Not only is it extremely impressive, but once you get used to the minor whiplash, it can often feel like you’re getting an ever-so-slightly different singing style each time. In terms of tracks to start with, we’d recommend ‘Relentless’, ‘Jackie Don’t Mind’ and ‘Electric Sunrise’, but there’s plenty of breadth to enjoy in their easily-digestible discography. They even got the nod from the late, great Mani. RIP to a legend.
This one's for Mani. Our mentor, our champion and our friend. We can't describe how much we'll miss him – and we'll leave it at that.
Next up is some unapologetic girl rock, which may have been born in the West Midlands, but solo artist Lissy Taylor is fast taking her music all over, with the ride so far taking her across the UK, Europe and even the United States, before posting up here in Manchester.
More than a decade into her career, and now based in our fair city, you can tell that Taylor has more confidence and conviction than ever: you can hear it in her music. It started in 2023 with our fave, ‘Feel For Me’, and has spread into tunes like ‘Life Changing’ and her latest single ‘Jealous’. Give them a go.
3. Plastic Heart
They say three is the magic number, and judging by what we’ve heard so far from Manc alternative rock outfit Plastic Heart, they just might be on to something. Even with just a few properly studio-produced and finished tunes on the internet, they already have a very well-defined sound, and it’s got us hyped.
A five-piece from in and around Greater Manchester, these lot look like they’re off on the right foot, as they’re not just getting themselves about on social media but, most importantly, they’re clearly busy at work writing, rehearsing and recording a solid first batch of material.
In terms of what is out there so far, you’ll get hints of Vukovi/PVRIS in ‘Hear My Call’ and ‘Tension’; plus, based on their little teaser on Instagram, we’re looking forward to the fully-fledged version of another as-yet-unreleased song, ‘Ashes’. Get on board from the start and thank us later when that first EP drops.
From yet another female-led group to another fun, albeit very kind of vocalist, but one that we have been left very intrigued by, to say the least. We’ll begin by assuring that, yes, this is their name, and no, there are no typos in the spelling; this Manchester-based project isn’t like much you’ll have heard before.
We came across them via their show alongside equally unique poet and musician Edward Barton, as they joined up with the veteran artist and all-round eccentric at The Yard, as well as having written with each other earlier in the year. At first glance, they seem just as idiosyncrantic, charmingly unserious and entirely singular as he is, but we suspect there’s more to come.
The lyrics are arguably even more anecdotal and amusing, and rather conveniently, we can only find two tracks on Spotify, so you can similarly get up to speed on this very intriguing concept before falling into what we can only imagine will go on to be a pretty wild Bandcamp wormhole.
5. Chloe Slater
One more fantastic artist doing wonders for women in music, for good measure, shall we? Plenty of you will have no doubt heard of Bournemouth-born singer-songwriter and 0161 adoptee, Chloe Slater, but we’ll confess it’s taken us far too long to dive deep into her full catalogue.
It was probably one of the biggest musical mistakes we made this past 12 months, but we will be rectifying it as one of our first New Year’s Resolutions. Going from a somewhat disaffected uni dropout to an opinionated, outspoken and politically charged lyricist – she’s been a Northerner in spirit, alright.
Touching everything from regional and generational challenges, we struggle to play favourites, but sod it: ‘Price On Fun’, ‘Harriet’, ‘Nothing Shines On This Island’, ‘Death Trap’, ‘Tiny Screens’. Just trust us and listen to every second of this up-and-comer who’s already supported fellow rising alt-pop star Role Model and, coincidentally, is a dead ringer for actor Daisy Edgar-Jones…
So that’s it for another year, only the best part is we’ll be keeping this show on the road all throughout 2026 as we hunt for more local music legends in the making.
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With that in mind, if you’ve got suggestions for Manchester-based bands we should listen to next or know a native who you believe is the next best thing, please do drop them in the comments.
Oh, and if you want even more of our favourite artists over the past year, why not check out the list of what The Manc, HootandThe Sheff team named as the top albums of 2025?
Manchester City reach ‘agreement in principle’ to sign winger Antoine Semenyo
Danny Jones
Yes, if the latest reports are to be believed, Man City are further bolstering their offensive options with a deal for another wide forward in Bournemouth star, Antoine Semenyo, now virtually done.
Having emerged as one of the Premier League’s hottest properties over the past couple of years, Antoine Semenyo has gone from not only being an extremely prolific winger, but beyond a flavour of the month, with multiple teams expressing their interest in recent months.
That being said, despite being linked with local rivals Manchester United, current champions Liverpool and an already heavily staffed Chelsea side, it looks as though City have now won the race to sign Semenyo – one they seem to have been leading since the start.
According to sports journalists Ben Jacobs and Alex Crook, the Blues have now reached an ‘agreement in principle’ for the Ghanaian international, meaning it is merely just a case of crossing Ts and dotting Is.
🚨 BREAKING: Antoine Semenyo's move to Manchester City from Bournemouth is now agreed in principle. Clubs in process of drafting paperwork.
Clarity on Semenyo's move date expected in the next 24 hours.
As per the update on New Year’s Day (and the opening 24 hours of the 2026 January transfer window), the talkSPORT correspondents claim that while final personal terms are still to be fully confirmed, the deal is effectively done.
Semenyo’s release clause was set at £65 million, which is approximately the same figure they sold former striker Dominic Solanke to Spurs for, but inevitable add-ons and bonuses are likely to set a club record fee in terms of player sales.
Writing on social media, Crook said: “Semenyo move from #AFCB to #MCFC pretty much done now. Deal agreed in principle, and contracts being drafted by the two clubs.”
Moreover, Semenyo joining City could also set a few other dominoes in motion once officially over the line and fully announced…
However, it is also thought that manager Andoni Iraola’s insistence that the draw against Chelsea was “definitely not” his last game suggests that City fans will still have to wait some more before they see him in the sky blue strip.
The Cherries’ boss has been clear that he wants his attacking talisman to feature in their upcoming game against Arsenal this weekend.
As a result, this will most likely see completion of the albeit all but done transfer delayed even further, hence why Pep Guardiola and co. will have to wait to try him in the starting XI.
It’s also worth noting that although the 25-year-old made it clear he doesn’t just want somewhere he can win trophies, but has already named the Etihad Stadium as his desired destination, many have suggested that he could end up losing momentum amid the wealth of attackers being rotated.
Happy with the business, Blues? And as for you neutrals, do you think it’s the right next step for him?
Emily Sergeant -
2nd August 2023 
