Anton Du Beke plays down Strictly Come Dancing's falling audience figures
Anton Du Beke believes that Strictly Come Dancing's drop in audience figures indicates how televisions viewing habits are shifting.
Anton Du Beke has dismissed concerns about Strictly Come Dancing's falling viewing figures.
Ratings for the latest series of the BBC's Saturday night staple have dropped sharply compared to previous years, but the Strictly judge says this reflects changing television viewing habits.
Anton, who was a professional dancer on the show before joining the judging panel in 2021, told The Times newspaper: "The viewing figures aren't what they were because (television's) all different now.
"The key is the viewer percentage of whoever's watching the television at that moment. There's no point saying, 'We don't get 12 million viewers like we used to', if only five million are watching television anyway."
Anton stressed that last weekend's episode of Strictly received a healthy "58 per cent" of the audience share.
The 60-year-old star said: "Nobody else is getting more than 30 per cent of the share. Well, maybe Traitors. But still, every year over 50 per cent of the population is watching."
This year's series has marked a new era for Strictly, with the trio of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe taking over presenting duties from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, but Du Beke insists that it "hasn't changed anything" about the programme.
He said: "Showbusiness people are used to change. It hasn't changed anything about the show.
"The only thing you have is great excitement about new people coming in and joining the family. It sounds a bit twee, but it is that.
"All the hosts do is say, 'Hello, welcome to the show', and, 'Here's who's coming next.' The bit we want is the dancing."
Du Beke also questioned those bemoaning the lack of star power in this year's series.
He said: "People say we don't know who the contestants are. It's such an odd thing to say.
"It's not that we don't know anyone. If you're an EastEnders fan you'll know Lacey (Turner). You'll know Dani (Dyer). You'll know (the actress) Jaime (Winstone) if you've watched some of her work.
"If you're a fan of the Winter Olympics you'll know Tabby (Stoecker). She's a (skeleton racing) gold medallist."
