Exactly one month ago, Kevin Clifton solemnly denied that he had ever — or would ever — date one of his partners on Strictly Come Dancing.
Clifton, 36, said: ‘No, never. You’re there to do a job and get on with the dancing. That’s what it’s about.’
But yesterday he was accused of being a ‘slippery snake’ and a ‘rat’ by the boyfriend of his last partner, Stacey Dooley: he says that the two of them are now an item.
Exactly one month ago, Kevin Clifton (pictured together with Stacey Dooley) solemnly denied that he had ever — or would ever — date one of his partners on Strictly Come Dancing
Clifton, 36, said: ‘No, never. You’re there to do a job and get on with the dancing. That’s what it’s about'. Clifton is pictured with another of his Strictly dance partners, Susanna Reid (left) and his first wife, Anna Melnikova (right)
Sam Tucknott, 30, a personal trainer, says that Kevin Clifton wooed his girlfriend away from him under the gaze of the cameras, sending intimate phone messages to her and finally sealing a romance with her just as she moved out of the house they had shared together in Brighton.
Neither ‘King Kev’ nor Stacey Dooley, a documentary-maker, who lifted the glitter ball trophy together in December, felt able to deny his story.
But what is surprising everyone is not that Kevin has broken his Strictly vow (he’s never had much luck with vows, as we shall see) and become romantically involved with one of his dance partners, but what the sensible, down-to-earth, and famously unstarry Stacey is doing hooking up with this unlikely Lothario in the first place.
Aged 36 and with three divorces behind him, he doesn’t appear very good boyfriend material. Although worshipped as a ‘god’ by Strictly fans as the show’s most successful professional dancer, he’s also known for a short temper, pernickity perfectionism and a habit of getting uncomfortably chummy with his dance partners.
Stacey, meanwhile, is known as a delightful, self-made grafter, who worked on a perfume counter at Luton Airport after leaving school at 16, before making a name for herself in television. She had been with Sam, a former professional footballer, for three years and had even ‘talked babies’.
To make matters worse, Sam says Clifton had seemed to be good friends with him at first. He said: ‘Adults make their own choices. I just know that he is a slippery snake — a proper rat. To have that relationship where you are best buddies, but then you start going cold because you start fancying their girlfriend — I hold no respect for him whatsoever.’
He went on: ‘Stacey has broken my heart, but of course I still love her and I wish her every success. My anger is with Kevin. It’s more like Strictly Come Dating — year in, year out.
Aged 36 and with three divorces behind him, he doesn’t appear very good boyfriend material. Clifton is pictured with his second wife, Claire (left) and his third wife, Karen (right)
‘Strictly is meant to be a family show — my little niece watches it — but it’s so sleazy, and I cannot begin to wonder what goes on behind the scenes.
‘I’ve tried to meet him since to get closure, but he won’t do it. The fact he won’t have a man-to-man conversation with me says everything about the guy.’
For her part, Stacey appears to have broken her silence about the split. Hours after the news became public, she ‘favourited’ a post on Twitter which read: ‘Forgive not because they deserve forgiveness but because you deserve peace.’
Sam may be the only one who is truly surprised by the turn of events. The 12.7 million viewers who watched Kevin and Stacey kissing and embracing upon winning the BBC show bore witness to a friendship which was rather obviously giving way to something stronger.
At the time, 32-year-old Stacey said: ‘You know how highly I think of you. I think you are the biggest gem. You’re patient, you’re talented, your choreography is second to none. You so deserve this.’ Kevin replied, in tears: ‘You are so lovely and I just think the absolute world of you.’
According to Sam, after the show was over they returned home but spent a tense ‘hollow’ Christmas together with his family, marked by ‘petty squabbles’.
Sam said: ‘I felt she was just not at the table.’ She asked to go back to Brighton on Boxing Day.
Despite heart-to-heart talks and declarations of love in January, Stacey went off to Uganda to film for Comic Relief and then, at the end of March, they called it quits.
Sam had suspicions when he found out she had sent Kevin some cupcakes to wish him luck on a first night earlier this year.
For her part, Stacey appears to have broken her silence about the split. Hours after the news became public, she ‘favourited’ a post on Twitter which read: ‘Forgive not because they deserve forgiveness but because you deserve peace’. Pictured is Clifton with ex-Strictly dancing partner Louise Redknapp
He also had misgivings when Kevin sent her a text message last November which ran: ‘I love dancing with you and spending every minute I can with you.’ Sam said: ‘Maybe I was too naive. Looking back, all the signs were there that I had lost Stacey.’
During their final meeting, Sam saw a text on her phone from Kevin declaring his love. He said that Stacey said: ‘I didn’t start entertaining and texting him until I split up with you . . . I was not with you when we started it all. I did fall for him, but when we were done.’ But the question now is: does Stacey have any idea of what she is letting herself in for? Ex-wives aside, first there are the Strictly ‘romances’. Pop singer Louise Redknapp was paired with Kevin in 2016. A fast friendship developed. Kevin’s then-wife, Karen, was reportedly so worried about their on-floor charisma that she told Louise’s spouse, former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp: ‘Keep your wife away from my husband. She’s ruining our
