Anton Du Beke thinks he could finally make it to the Strictly final

Du Beke, who has appeared on every single series since the show began in 2004, has endured a poor run of results in recent years – 11th, 9th, and 15th respectively in the last three years with partners Lesley Joseph, Ruth Langsford and Susannah Constantine.

But he's feeling good about the 2019 series, telling Chris Evans: "I think she can go all the way."

"Honestly, I think she can go all the way," Du Beke said, after the Breakfast Radio host had joked about his results in recent years. "I do, because I think she's amazing. I think she is tremendous."

"Can you go all the way?!" Evans asked, incredulous.

"I'll take the inhaler and I'll be fine," the 53-year-old said, "[I'll] lie down in the afternoons."

He also heaped praise on Barton, with whom he is set to perform a tango to Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach this weekend.

"It's really lovely from my perspective, because I can talk to her like a proper dancer as opposed to sort of a sort of student beginner," he said. "She's doing tremendously well. And it's really brilliant. She tries everything she wants to."

Strictly Come Dancing continues this Saturday on BBC One