Anton Du Beke has been seen for first time since being dragged into the Strictly Come Dancing misconduct scandal.
The outing came after the judge, 58, broke his silence after his ‘1970s-style behaviour’ with former Strictly dance partner Laila Rouass ‘raised concerns’.
During the 2009 series, he caused contestant Laila, who is of Indian and Moroccan descent, to cry when he jokingly remarked that she ‘looked like a P***’ after a spray tan.
These comments have resurfaced this week.
On Saturday, Anton dressed casually as he arrived at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, north Wales, for his tour date with ex Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice, 33.
Giovanni himself is currently suspended while a BBC probe is underway over claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other former celebrity partners, with Anton throwing his support behind the dancer.
The judge wore a teal T-shirt with a pair of smart shorts, throwing a navy blue sweater over one shoulder.
As he is the latest star to be thrown into the misconduct scandal, Anton brushed off the resurfaced historic row by sharing a slew of Instagram reposts on his birthday on Saturday morning.
Anton apologised to Laila at the time and admitted he felt ‘stupid’ and ’embarrassed’ by his comments to the actress, with the duo making amends a few weeks later.
As well as Giovanni, professional dancer Graziano Di Prima, 30, was axed from the show this week and later apologised for hitting and kicking his celebrity partner Zara McDermott, 27, during rehearsals last year.
Anton’s wife Hannah shared a heartfelt message to Anton alongside snaps of his six-year-old twins George and Henrietta.
She penned: ‘Happy birthday darling Anton Du Beke George, Ra Ra and I couldn’t love you more and can’t wait to celebrate when we’re all together! We will ring soon for a serenade…. Brace yourself for Granny! Happy birthday my darling. I love you. ❤️’
Reposting her message, he wrote: ‘What a perfect message to start my birthday morning. Thank you @hannah_du_beke. Can’t wait to celebrate with you all on Monday. Love you so much.’
Anton sparked outrage when it emerged he had called Laila a ‘p***’ when she attended rehearsals wearing fake tan.
A source told The Sun: ‘Anton has a very 1970s attitude and can be abrasive.
‘The lines are becoming increasingly blurred as to what is acceptable or not, and of course, some people have found him fine to work with.
‘But there were murmurings of discontent when he was a dancer. Yet the BBC promoted him. It is all quite strange.’
When contacted by MailOnline, a spokesperson for the BBC said: ‘We will not be commenting on individuals or engaging with speculation.
‘However, as we have said previously we will always listen if people want to make us aware of something or raise it with us directly and we have appropriate procedures and processes in place to manage this.’
MailOnline contacted Anton Du Beke’s representative for comment at the time.
In the furore over the remark back in 2009, it was also revealed that Anton had also asked Laila if she was a terrorist in a joke about her north African heritage.
Speaking on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two after the incident came to light, Laila said: ‘We are getting through this together. It’s been a tough week for both of us… But we just want to move on.
‘This happened weeks ago and we’ve been getting on very well.’
Anton added: ‘I would just like to reiterate my apology from last weekend to Laila, to everybody on the show and to everybody that watches the show because I feel embarrassed, I feel stupid as well.’
He continued: ‘It was a stupid thing to do and a stupid thing to say and now people are talking about that when they should be talking about the show and what a great show it is.
‘As I say I am mortified about it, completely, and Laila has been quite remarkably wonderful.’
Bruce Forsyth was also forced to backtrack in a formal BBC statement after he said the nation should get a ‘sense of humour’ about the controversy.
He had told radio station TalkSport: ‘We used to have a sense of humour about this. You go back 25, 30, 40 years and there has always been a bit of humour about the whole thing.
‘At one time the Americans used to call us ‘limeys’ which doesn’t sound very nice, but we used to laugh about it. Everybody has a nickname.’
But hours later a statement from Bruce was issued by the BBC.
‘What Anton said to Laila was wrong and he has apologised unreservedly for this. Nor do I in any way excuse or condone the use of such language,’ it said.
‘To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable.
‘However, there is a major difference between this and racist comments which are malicious in intent and, whilst I accept that we live in a world of extraordinary political correctness, we should keep things in perspective.’
The statement added ‘these are my personal views and not necessarily those of the BBC’.
Last month it was reported Anton was ‘hugely standing by’ Giovanni after he quit Strictly Come Dancing amid the BBC’s ‘serious misconduct’ probe.
The pair are appearing together in a live show called Giovanni and Anton Together: The Live Tour, which will begin in June and last until the end of July.
Giovanni posted a video of the pair on his Instagram Stories and the accompanying promo photo shows the two men hugging one another, showing they are the best of friends.
Anton opened the clip by saying: ‘First day of rehearsals, always my favourite day. Second day, less so,’ to which Giovanni laughed.
Giovanni, who was smiling and appeared in good spirits, continued: ‘Because we have to remember everything about day one. We are back on tour. It feels nice.’
Strictly bosses announced plans to introduce chaperones during training, and the appointment of two new welfare producers, after Graziano’s shock sacking from the show.
Now, bosses have announced that they would be introducing ‘additional steps to strengthen welfare and support on Strictly Come Dancing.’
A statement from the corporation said: ‘Concerns that have arisen in recent months have been fundamentally about training and rehearsals. The actions we announce today are designed to address that.’
The new measures include a member of the production team being present during training room rehearsals at all times, and increased support for both celebrity contestants and the professional dancers.
A Celebrity Welfare Producer and a Professional Dancer Welfare Producer will both be appointed to fulfil these added duties, and further training will also be delivered for the production team and crew.
Kate Phillips, BBC’s Director of Unscripted, said: ‘Whilst we know our shows have been positive experiences for the vast majority of those who have taken part, if issues are raised with us, or we’re made aware of inappropriate behaviour, we will always take that seriously and act.
‘Concerns that have arisen have been fundamentally related to training and rehearsals. The decisive steps we have taken and are announced today, act to further strengthen the welfare and support in place for everyone involved with this production.’
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Source: Los Angeles Times1
