Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke will be returning to the judging panel, according to Craig Revel Horwood.
After the professional line-up was confirmed earlier in the week, fans were desperate to know what that meant for the 55-year-old dancer – who replaced Bruno Tonioli during series 19.
And it looks like Craig, aka Mr Nasty, has put them all out of their misery and confirmed the long-serving pro will return to the podium once more after impressing viewers at home.
‘I think last year he did a great job on Strictly as a judge. And we have just found out he is going to do it again this year,’ he told The Sun.
Metro.co.uk understands the judging line-up is yet to be decided.
Anton took over from the Italian dancer, 66, in 2021, after he was forced to remain in the US due to the Covid pandemic and commitments to Dancing With The Stars.
After making his debut on the panel in series 19 – which saw actress Rose Ayling-Eliis crowned champion – it was reported that producers were hoping Anton would be back critiquing a new batch of celebrities this autumn.
While Craig is thrilled over Anton’s return, he suggested last year that the TV show could accommodate five judges, without the need to dump Anton or Bruno.
Speaking to MailOnline, he explained: ‘Bruno adds something Anton can’t and vice-versa, if you look at it that way, so I think they’ve both got different opinions which I think is perfectly good.
‘We could easily have five people on that panel. I think our time would be limited because there are only two minutes for the judges to talk but we would make it count.’
Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Giovanni Pernice, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Luba Mushtuk, and Nancy Xu are among the stars competing later this year.
Newcomers Cameron Lombard and Jowita Przystal – who both made their debut in 2021 – will also have the chance to dance with a celebrity.
This comes after dancers Aljaž Škorjanec and Oti Mabuse confirmed their departure from the series.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One later this year.
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