Anton Du Beke says Cat Deeley would be 'magnificent' on Strictly as Ben Shepard campaigns for her to join

Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has tipped This Morning host Cat Deeley to be a "magnificent" addition to the BBC dance competition. He and the This Morning co-host Ben Shephard talked about her being part of the next series.

The professional dancer appeared on Monday's episode of ITV's This Morning where he joined forces with co-host Ben Shepard trying to persuade the 47-year-old to participate in the upcoming series of Strictly.

Discussing his previous celebrity partners before becoming a judge, Anton cheekily said: "My favourite was always a favourite who I haven't danced with before, called Cat."

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Cat, who is familiar with the dance scene after hosting So You Think You Can Dance, in the US, confessed that Ben had already been 'campaigning' for her to sign up for the show.

Anton enthusiastically stated: 'I'd be furious if you did because I have wanted you to dance with me for years. And now you'd have one of the young ones, who are firm to the touch with dark hair, but you'd be magnificent on the show I'm sure."

In another part of the interview, the dancer talked about his current An Evening With show which is presently touring the country. He left the hosts laughing as he quipped: "The show is me on stage with my incredible band, my beautiful dancers.

"I say get them [dancers] young and good and it makes you look better. The magic really is with a partner, I love to do duets and collaborate with people because it is so much more alive, it is what elevates everything.

"It's grown and grown. Next year, we are already talking about a show and what to do. I think it is going to be a musical show next year. I almost want to do two shows, a big song and dance and then a Q&A."

Cat shared her experience of a "frightening'" health scare during a live broadcast of So You Think You Can Dance. During a discussion about migraines, she opened up about her own struggles and how she had her first one on camera and was forced to "push through."

She explained: "Mine goes from the outside in, actually more kind of like tunnel vision! I got my first migraine on live TV, it was actually really frightening as I didn't know what was happening to me and I'd never had one before.

"But now, I get them occasionally and I can see symptoms straight away. If I act straight away with something like migraine relief, it gets rid of it!"

Speaking to MailOnline in 2017, she added: "That was the worst experience ever. I had no idea what was happening, which was the scariest part. I got tunnel vision halfway through the show and my head felt like it was exploding. But what can you do? You are live in front of millions. You push through on adrenalin and then collapse when the show is over."

Last month, Cat and Ben were finally announced as the new hosts of This Morning after replacing Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. Their first episode attracted an average viewership of 806,000 and peaked at one million - some of the highest ratings of 2024 so far.