Anton Du Beke reveals the touching reason he didn't have children until age 51

Anton Du Beke

Just last year, on 30th March, Anton Du Beke and his wife Hannah Summers welcomed their baby twins, son George and daughter Henrietta

The Strictly Come Dancing star was, notably, 51 when he welcomed the twins, who are now 18 months old.

And now, Anton has revealed why he waited until his fifth decade to start a family - and there's a pretty sweet reason.

In an interview with the Mirror, the much-loved dancer confessed, "I’ll tell you why I waited so long to start a family and why it was the right decision for me,"

"I wanted to be 100 per cent sure that my children’s mother would be the woman I would spend the rest of my life with. As soon as I knew I would be with Hannah forever, I wanted to have children with her." How lovely!

Anton and Hannah also didn't meet until later in their lives. The couple got together in 2012, when Anton was 46, and quietly married early in 2017.

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The pair, who live in Buckinghamshire, welcomed their twins after deciding to try IVF, after years of trying for a baby had proven unsuccessful.

In the interview, Anton confessed that his life has completely changed since welcoming his children - but that he wouldn't have it any other way.

He said, "Life has changed completely since the babies arrived, but in the most wonderful way. It’s the best change ever. Absolutely super. I love being with them and Hannah. Love every second of it. Doing all the family stuff, like going swimming and having splash time, well, it’s my very favourite thing."

The Strictly star also said, "The twins are doing everything at the same time at the moment, although they have quite different personalities.

"George is quite immediate, while Henrietta considers things more. Having said this, as soon as she sees a mobile phone she wants it – more than any of her toys. I dance with the pair of them already. They love being twirled around the room." What a sweet picture.

Anton is likely feeling pretty glum today however, after he and Susannah Constantine were the first to be kicked off this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing.

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It's the first time Anton has left the competition this early in its 14-year history, and fans were understandably gutted to see him go.

One wrote on his Instagram, 'So sad that u went out so soon Anton 😢', while another commented, 'Really sad to see you leave......x'.

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.