Anton Du Beke left fearing for like during family holiday as he details ‘nearly freezing to death’
Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has revealed how he “nearly froze to death” after getting stuck in waist-deep snow during a family ski trip to France.
The 58-year-old star found himself in a dangerous predicament when he attempted to scale a snowy mountain without proper equipment.
The incident occurred a few years ago when Du Beke joined his wife Hannah and their twins George and Henrietta on holiday.
The professional dancer shared details of the harrowing experience on his Putt & Strut podcast and explained that he doesn’t participate in skiing activities with his family.
“I don’t ski, so I just went along. It’s a horrible holiday to go along on if you don’t ski. I have no interest and I’m so fearful of the old pins,” he added about the sport.
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When his family took the chairlift back up the mountain, Du Beke made a fateful decision: “They went up the ski lift back up to the top. Not that far, maybe a few hundred metres,” he said.
“I thought ‘I won’t get on the thing, I’ll have a wander I’ll walk up’.”
Du Beke soon realised his mistake, having worn completely inappropriate clothing for the conditions.
“I think I had a pair of jeans on. I had a snowshoe, just like a tennis racket on the bottom of the shoes,” he explained.
These basic shoes were no match for the deep snow he encountered, leaving the Strictly judge to admit: “You can’t walk in waist deep snow in them.”
He then revealed he found himself stuck halfway up the slope and said: “I was like ‘This is so embarrassing’. I’ve walked up a hill of snow everybody else is skiing in all the gear.”
Despite the embarrassment, he persevered with the climb and added: “I forced myself to walk up. I froze to death, I was wet one of the most humiliating things ever.”
Fellow skiers were baffled by his predicament: “There were literally people skiing past me and going ‘what are you doing?’,” he recalled.
Following the mountain mishap, Du Beke decided to avoid a repeat of the experience.
The dancer opted to sit out his family’s recent ski trip during the half-term break.
His family travelled to France to visit a friend without him this time.
This wasn’t the only embarrassing moment Du Beke has faced recently.
While appearing on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, he lost £15,000 after failing to answer a musical-related question.
He had pledged to donate his own money to The Sick Children’s Trust if he got a question wrong.