The awkward moment happened after Amanda Abbington’s debut performance.
Anton Du Beke was teased for an awkward moment on the first live show of Strictly Come Dancing 2023, when he appeared to (briefly) forget fellow judge Shirley Ballas’ name.
The moment occurred as the judges were giving feedback on Amanda Abbington‘s debut performance, in which she danced the Viennese Waltz with her partner Giovanni Pernice to Pointless by Lewis Capaldi.
After Shirley had given her feedback, Tess Daly came to Anton, who appeared lost for words. He then said that he agreed completely with Shirley, but for a moment struggled to get her name out.
Shirley intervened to tease him, saying “Shirley, my name is Shirley”, while the other judges and Tess laughed.
This wasn’t the only bit of banter between the judges during Week 1, as Motsi Mabuse joked that Craig Revel Horwood was “jealous” of her after he complained about her use of a personal fan.
Read more:
- Eddie Kadi wants to make his family proud on Strictly Come Dancing
- Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice wishes a contestant was eliminated this week
The first live show kicked this year’s competition off in style, with scores on the leaderboard ranging from Les Dennis and Nancy Xu’s 16 to Nigel Harman and Katya Jones’ impressive 32.
Fans were particularly stunned by Angela Rippon’s performance, with the 78-year-old broadcaster ending her dance with an incredible split, in which her partner Kai Widdrington lifted her leg high into the air.
Meanwhile, things got emotional in the studio when Bobby Brazier’s dad Jeff, who was seen supporting his son from the audience, had tears in his eyes following his performance.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 30th September at 6:20pm. The results show will air on Sunday 1st October on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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