So is Anton really ‘Prince Charming’?

Anton du Beke is almost as well-known for his charm as he is for his fancy footwork.

The Strictly Come Dancing star has been a stalwart of the BBC ratings buster since way back when it started and he’s so popular he’s often touted as a replacement for Sir Bruce, should he ever decide to go.

More about that later.

However, I’ve always been immune to his charm. In fact, there are times I’ve found him a bit more smarm than charm. So when the boss told me I was meeting him, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the encounter.

“See if he can charm even you, you big cynical lump,” he said.

The man’s own website claims he’s “dashing, debonair and distinguished”. After spending a bit of time at Strictly the previous week and spotting him in his “civvies”, there are times you could add “dishevelled” to that list.

He certainly scrubs up well, I’ll give him that.

I’m told before our chat that he’s so busy that he can only talk to me for 15 minutes.

I spend a lot of time reading up on him to ensure I can make the most of that quarter of an hour.

There’s no doubt about it, that C word charm pops up again and again whenever anyone meets him. It seems he’s “irresistibly charming”, “simply charming” and even “Prince Charming”. We’ll see.

I start by thanking Anton who’s seemingly touchy about his age but is 47 for sparing the time to meet me.

“No, that’s entirely my pleasure,” he says in his Kent English-gent tones. “Thank YOU very much.”

I tell him I saw him at Strictly, but he disappeared before I got a chance to say hello.

“I’m so sorry. It’s a disaster, darling!” he says, lapsing into Craig Revel Horwood speak.

He blabs on about his new show, Ballroom To Broadway, and does sound genuinely excited about it although he won’t be dancing with his professional partner, Erin Boag.

She recently revealed she’s pregnant, which is the reason she’s missed out on this year’s Strictly.

“Yes, I’ve known for a while and I had to keep it a secret!” he booms, letting out a cheeky chuckle.

“It’s brilliant news. I’m so happy for her. But she’s still involved in the show, doing the costumes and some of the production stuff.”

That’s nice that you’ve involved her, Anton.

“Well, I couldn’t leave out my mate. She wouldn’t let me!”

Unlike some other celebs, he has had real jobs, including selling beds and working in a factory.

I have a vision of him in the bed shop, patting mattresses and inviting ladies to try before they buy. I’m pretty sure he could sell snow to Eskimos, so I imagine he did quite well in sales.

“You’re right, I wasn’t bad. The thing is, it wasn’t really working. It was just chatting. I do like a chat!”

And he laughs that laugh again.

He’s grateful to Strictly and the life it’s let him lead. He admits that when he heard about it, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be involved. But that changed once he met the team working on it.

“Well, Come Dancing wasn’t popular and dancing was a bit of a joke. But as soon as Erin and I met them, we wanted to be involved.”

How glad he is he made that decision?

“I am, I am! I talk about it with Len (Goodman) all the time. We look at each other and say we’re so glad to be there. We feel so lucky.

“Strictly came along and all of a sudden dancing became popular with the masses. Before I knew it, I was able to put on shows and people pay to see me. It’s fantastic.

“Before I go to bed, I thank God for my mum, my girlfriend and Strictly Come Dancing,” he smiles.

Ah, his girlfriend. He talks about her freely but he’s not keen to tell me her name.

Should he ever find himself single again, he wouldn’t be short of takers for the position of Mrs Anton.

He’s still in touch with his ex-partners and Esther Rantzen, his partner from Strictly’s 2004 series, says: “He is adorable, every woman should have half an hour with Anton Du Beke.”

But he’s used that charisma to get himself out of tricky situations. In 2009, he had to apologise to his partner Laila Rouass after allegedly making a racist joke about her.

And he denies he once said he’d “no time” for fat people, claiming he’d been misquoted.

It’s a measure of his popularity that after these alleged blunders he’s still on Strictly although he and partner Fiona Fullerton are out of this year’s show and he’s still seen as a frontrunner in the race to replace Bruce.

Like Bruce, there’s something old-fashioned and cheery about him. He fancies himself as a bit of an all-round entertainer, too.

And there’s even a bit of a resemblance to a young Bruce. Whisper it, but it’s something to do with the chin.

Ask him if he fancies himself in Strictly’s top job, though, and he umms and aaahs.

“I don’t talk about it, really. It’s not going to be my decision, is it?” he says. “He’s my hero, so I never say more than that.”

But I wouldn’t bet against him.

Does he ever feel cheesed off that he gets the “characters” on Strictly, the ones who have no chance of winning?

“No! There’s never been a lost cause, there’s always a way you can work with people. If I’d got, say, Kara Tointon instead of Ann Widdecombe, I’d have missed out on Ann and that was such fun.”

Anton admits he enjoys being a celeb.

“I love it, people are so nice. Before chatting to you I was standing outside on the phone, and people were walking past and waving to me, shouting hi.”

So what about celebs that moan about their lack of a private life?

“No time for them. Get another job if you don’t like it!”

My 15 minutes have come and gone and we haven’t even noticed.

Irresistibly charming, indeed.