Diversity would not have won Britain’s Got Talent if it hadn’t been for Strictly Come Dancing, according to Anton Du Beke.
The street dance company, directed by Ashley Banjo, earned £100,000 and a spot at that year’s Blackpool-based Royal Variety Performance, allowing them to perform in front of the Royal Family.
Diversity impressed judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan in their first audition, receiving three well-deserved ‘yes’ votes and fast progressing through the competition.
They are still one of the greatest performers to come out of the ITV programme to this day.
Anton, who has been a judge on the iconic BBC series since 2004, said on Thursday’s This Morning Strictly that the show’s influence has encouraged people appreciate all types of dance.
‘When Strictly came along, we started sharing audiences,’ he explained to Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
‘People started to watch Strictly, then Dancing On Ice became pretty popular with Jayne [Torvill] and Christopher [Dean] and the whole world started to open up.’
He continued: ‘Then a few years later Diversity go and win Britain’s Got Talent, without Strictly Come Dancing I’m convinced that would’ve never happened, because people weren’t open to dance.
‘It was always at the bottom of the mainstream, and it’s the most wonderful thing because dance is such an incredible medium for performance and expression, and it should be treated as equally as everything else.’
Anton recently stunned Strictly fans in Belfast during the live tour when he swung his co-judge Shirley Ballas in a gravity-defying headbanger.
Yeah, indeed!
Despite the hazards, Shirley dived in head first (literally) and trusted Anton with her life.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.