Anton du Beke talks writing romantic novels, his exhausting schedule and Strictly Come Dancing’s winning formula
WORDS: ALISON JAMES
In the flesh, Anton Du Beke is even more debonair than he is on Strictly. He may be dressed in a smart sports jacket rather than a DJ, but there is an innate elegance to this man who is well on his way to becoming an entertainment legend.
He positively glides onto the stage of the packed venue in south Wales where he is set to chat for an hour or so about his latest novel. It’s his sixth, would you believe, and is called The Paris Affair.
The narrative moves seamlessly between two time periods and locations. It’s the Paris of 1926, and young dancer Ray Cohen arrives from London to compete at the prestigious Exhibition Paris dance competition.
Once in the French capital, he is led astray by Hugo, a charismatic dancer born of the streets, who introduces him to the city’s nightlife and a beautiful stranger called Hannah Lindt.
Then we’re in wartime London of 1941 and Ray, now known as Raymond de Guise – and who has become a debonair, sophisticated, handsome, dramatically charismatic, dashing dancer (wonder who he’s based on!) – is doing his bit fighting in North Africa. Meanwhile his wife Nancy must balance her new position – as Head of Housekeeping at the Buckingham Hotel – with her duties as a new mother to their child.
As the war rages on, someone from Raymond’s past arrives at Nancy’s doorstep, asking for help. Oo-er!
“I love writing my books – although strictly speaking I talk into a dictaphone and have a wonderful assistant who types my words out for me,” he says.
“I get completely wrapped up in the process. I love the history – especially the upstairs/downstairs aspect of it, the romance, the dancing element to the books and also the thriller/espionage aspect to this particular one.
“When I started writing, I wanted to be the next John le Carré. I love spy novels, you see. But after my second book, Moonlight Over Mayfair, was nominated for the Romantic Historical Novel of the Year Award I realised that romance was more my thing.
“I liken the experience to opening a wardrobe, stepping inside and discovering Narnia. Anything and everything is possible. It totally fires up my imagination. People and the lives they live – or have lived – totally fascinate me.
“When people read The Paris Af
