Anton du Beke says dancing helped him become an author as he shared passion for storytelling

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Anton Du Beke has revealed how dancing helped him become an author as he shared his lifelong passion for storytelling.

The Strictly Come Dancing judge discussed his latest fictional novel in a talk to cheering crowds at the Henley Literary Festival - at which The Independent is the exclusive news partner for a second year- on Sunday evening.

Speaking about how he became a writer, he insisted he “didn’t want people to buy my book because they liked the way I danced. I wanted my books to be great on their own.”

He explained that while he didn’t have an ambition to specifically be an author growing up, he had always enjoyed storytelling which is in part what inspired him to become a dancer.

“I always wanted to do stories and dancing was a great avenue to tell stories through,” he told a packed audience. “Its just kind of the story and the narrative is everything.”

He went on to describe stories he had been told about dancers which inspired his seven novels. His latest, A Dance for the King, follows a British soldier returning to London in 1942 only to be wrapped up in a plot to protect the King.

Anton told the audience how he preferred to write historical fiction as he was fascinated by the intricacies of everyday life in history, such as how a simple phone call today could instead involve a long process of calling a neighbour in the 1940s.

At the talk in Henley-on-Thames, Anton was not deterred by the admission that the majority of the crowd had not read his books, and insisted on giving the audience a good show.

He performed several dance tutorials on stage and revealed his favourite dance as the foxtrot.

Anton also nodded to fellow author Robert Harris, who also writes fiction within a historical framework. Harris spoke earlier at the festival in Oxfordshire about his latest novel, Precipice, and the real political love affair that the book is based on.

Henley Literary Festival continues until 6 October.