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This Morning presenter Ruth Langsford has issued an apology to her Strictly Come Dancing partnerAnton Du Beke. Speaking about her appearance on the fifteenth series of the BBC show in 2017, Ruth, 65, described her hopes of being partnered with the renowned dancing pro.

However, she admitted that part of her desire to be partnered with Anton, 59, was not just because of his talent, but because he wasn’t hot and wanting to spare her teenage son some embarrassment.

Writing in her book ‘Feeling Fabulous’ Ruth recounted: “In the meeting with the Strictly producers, they made it very clear that I couldn’t choose the dancer I wanted to be paired up with – but if I could wave a magic wand then who would I point it at? Easy answer. Anton, of course.

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“Apart from already knowing him a little and seeing how encouraging and kind he was to his celebrity partners, I didn’t want someone young and hot.

“Sorry, Anton, if you are reading this, because you are totally divine, but the fact I was heading towards 60 and I would not have felt comfortable grinding up against a 25-year-old – which my teenage son would have to watch. Probably through his fingers.”

However, this wouldn’t be the last time Ruth discussed Anton, going onto explain her uncontainable joy in the moment she found out she would be partnered with him.

Ruth added: “My calm walk towards him suddenly turned into an ungainly run, like a cart-horse, and I launched myself at him.

“Except I didn’t leap high enough so instead of hooking my legs around his waist, I ended up with them around his thighs, and he was hanging onto me for dear life. I think this took me more by surprise than it did him.”

Ruth said that the story has now become lore, and something which Anton recounts in his own appearances, albeit with a few tweaks.

She explained: “Of course, when Anton recounts the story, he adds all sorts of embellishments including a part where he staggers backwards as I cling to him.

“He sometimes tells it at his theatre shows and once, when I was in the audience, eh got me up on stage to replay it. He makes me howl with laughter.”

Ruth’s account of her introduction to Anton on Strictly follows the latter’s admission of wanting to start again after he explained why he changed his name from Tony Beck.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 he explained: “I wanted to start again in my life, and so I started with me. One thing doesn’t drive the other thing. For me, it was all about being successful in what I was doing. I decided I wanted to do this, and so that’s what I did, and everything I did was geared towards being good at this.”