ANTON du Beke dances with the delight at the name of his new touring show with special guest West End star Summer Strallen.

“It’s a great title,” says the Strictly Come Dancing alumnus, introducing Ballroom To Broadway. “It does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a bit of what I do, a bit of what Summer does and we meet in the middle.”

Before you ask, “Where’s Erin?”, Anton’s regular dance partner since 1997 will be absent from Saturday’s 3pm and 7.30pm performances at York Barbican because Erin Boag is pregnant. “Erin’s not able to do the tour, so I was straight to Summer to ask if I could do some shows with her and she said ‘Yes’. She’s a wonderful star of the West End; she’s a tremendous singer and an absolute joy to dance with. She is what they call a ‘triple threat’ with her fabulous acting, dancing and singing.”

Teaming up with Top Hat, Love Never Dies and The Sound Of Music star Summer has given Anton the chance to bring to the stage his long cherished tribute to a favourite film. “It’s a movie I’ve wished I could do something with for ages: The Bandwagon with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse,”

he says. “We all know Fred Astaire from his dancing with Ginger Rogers but seeing him dance with Cyd was brilliant and so different.”

Ballroom To Broadway stretches Anton in a different way, he says. “I can try different styles and numbers and I had a great deal of fun putting it together in two and a half weeks of rehearsals at the Dance Attic,” he explains. “We’re well into the tour and Summer’s been amazing. The show has been so well received by the public.”

Ask him to pinpoint Ballroom To Broadway’s instant success, and Anton suggests: “It comes down to the quality really. We have Summer, who is top class; we have the top-class Raymond Gubbay Big Band Orchestra; we have Lance Ellington singing, who’s just a joy; and great group of dancers, like Fay Huddleston from Burn The Floor.

And the music is all your favourite numbers that people know from the movies and the shows.” Numbers such as Anything Goes, Rhythm Of Life, Impossible Dream, Hushabye Mountain and Begin The Beguine.

Anton brings his natural rapport with a crowd to the show too. “I have moments in the first and second half where I chat to the audience and there’s a box in the foyer for questions that I then answer in the second half,” he says.

“They want to know all about Strictly; my favourite moments; if I could dance with anyone, who would it be; what’s my favourite cheese?”

Leaving aside the cheesy question, who would Anton love to accompany him on the dance floor after Erin and Summer and the Strictly likes of Lesley Garrett, Esther Rantzen, Patsy Palmer, Nancy Dell’Olio and sugarplum fairy Ann Widdecombe?

“Fred Astaire would have been my favourite or Ginger Rogers or CydCharisse. I love that classical angle she had to go with the Broadway musical style, so that she could turn her hand to something classical or something like Dancing In The Dark. Just Fred and her dancing together, it looked incredible,” says Anton. “With Summer, I can do that. I love a girl who can high kick.”

Should you be wondering, Anton and Erin will be re-united for next year’s tour. “Though ideally I’d love to have Erin and Summer in a show,” says Anton. “I might even come and see that one myself.”l

Anton du Beke and Summer Strallen in Ballroom To Broadway, York Barbican, Saturday, 3pm and 7.30pm. Tickets update: still available for both shows on 0844 854 2757 or at yorkbarbican.co.uk