Surely his attempts with Jan and Laila weren't that bad... were they?! (Hell, five years worth of repressive therapy and I can still see the opening bars of the Laila fiasco)

Anton's not had a Jive since 2009 (that's not a euphemism), which means (I think|) he's managed to surpass Brendan's heroic Charleston dodging effort that lasted from 2009 to 2013 (and, in fairness to La Cole, he'd never danced a Charleston prior to his Sophie extravaganza).

It's not as if Anton has had a series of early exits, either, given his torturous lengthy run with Widdy, baffling longevity with Fiona, recent sojourn with Judy and even mid-series making run with Nancy. But, in amongst all of that, still no Jive?

So... why do you think that is?

Purposeful decision on behalf of Anton and/ or producers or sheer, plain good luck?

Before he retires full-time as a pro sometime in 2027, I think the world is owed another Du Beke Jive- even if it is with next year's filthy rotten ringah Betty Boothroyd.

N.B

And because I'm kind... that Laila Fiasco in full.

Because the producer's are kind enough to spare us of his Latin 'dancing' His Cha Cha with Judy was stuff of Nightmares and even we noticed he got away with only doing two Latin dances this year (even one of those was a Paso) Could we imagine him getting someone good and doing an AT or a Samba *Shudder*

He's a very popular pro, but his dancing and teaching is poor now, and he's well past his best. He's not irreplaceable and if they had to keep him around give him an ITT segment interviewing backstage or something (Just please let him nowhere near the main show)

Also, my flatmate, who never watches strictly, once compared him to a Smarmy Conservative Politician and now that's all I can see, no wonder he and widdy got on so well!

He's also dodged the Samba since Ann.

Oddly enough, he's only done three VWs on the main show, which is less than the number of total Jives at four.

Enjoyed this post. Thanks OP

the last time he did a jive he was out of time and the routine dire

How DOES Anton keep managing to dodge the Jive draft?

I believe a lot of what Anton does or doesn't do is in the SCD script.....

It's not about what Anton dances though, it's about his celeb and most of them would find the jive just too testing. Given that he is there to partner the less able dancers it makes complete sense to me.

Laila was great in that Jive! I dunno what Anton was doing. Looked like he went blank a few times.

Anton is looking more and more out of place in some of the Pro group dances.

Dressed in skinny pants for some of them he looks more like an embarrassing dad trying to be trendy.
Not his fault, he's told what to wear but he does stick out like a sore thumb.

I liked his partnership with Judy but am getting a little bored of him and his yearly "joke", contestant routine.

I doN'T KNow.

His job, as designated by the producers, is to gently shepherd the older ladies to mid run exit respectability. The producers are never going to give the older women celebrity the most energetic dances. Much of the audience identifies with those and wants to see what they can do, not struggle with something way out of their range. Throw them all into jive and samba from week 1 and watch the numbers fall.

I really enjoyed that post - well written and amusing but still making a number of excellent points!

I enjoy Anton as part of the SCD mix. Each of the pros has their strengths and weaknesses (in terms of dances, personality, choreography, teaching ability etc.). So perhaps it doesn't matter than some do doge some dances! After all - guess what - it's not a dancing competition

His Latin is dire; Absolutely SHOCKING !!! I dont know why he still gets to stay in the show while other pros gets the sack

And imo is Ballroom is a tad overrated.........it's NOT all that. It's Really NOT. Brendan, Aljaz and Trent are much better in that regard imo.

Oh and to answer the OP question, I think that some pros can avoid some dances if they can..just like Brendan will avoid the rumba this season....

Widdy certainly had a soft spot for him! I can see what your flatmate means. I think it's the stuffy and permanent suit and tie look Anton favours. It's okay to look smart but we need to trendy him up a bit, but preferably without the awful hair dye! He'd actually suit distinguished and greying imo.

Ah the lovely Widdy

Each to their own - but it's the part of SCD that I look forward to, we need a bit of fun & light heartedness and no one else provides it. Strictly would not be Strictly without him. I'm happy for Anton to do dances that suit him, his ballroom is sublime. <3

I've loved Anton these past two years. I think he did really help Fiona's confidence last year (compare her Rumba with her Quickstep, for instance). Their Latin wasn't exactly terrible - their Cha Cha and Paso Doble (and Charleston, if it counts) were all reasonable attempts. I think it would've been nice if they'd gone a little further, but I think by the end of it, Fiona looked like she'd had enough

And of course Judy. We all know she wasn't the best dancer, so I don't feel like I can really judge Anton's choreographic efforts. He obviously helped her feel more comfortable on the dancefloor though (compare her Waltz and Cha Cha [rabbit in headlights] with her Charleston [which got the same score as her Waltz ] and the Viennese Waltz).

If there's one thing Anton's great at is having a good partnership with his celebs. That's something I've struggled to see in Brendan, Pasha etc. some years. I don't think he is ever going to get a contender, but he is a good partner to the older female with potential (like Fiona). Obviously his strengths are in Ballroom, so I don't see the problem with letting him do more Ballroom than Latin. Brendan doesn't get half as much flack as Anton on here, and sometimes his Latin routines are dreadful, for instance Sophie's Cha Cha and Jive last year and Sunetra's Jive and Samba this year. They could've been given much better.