Entertainment
Kevin Clifton felt he had to ‘prove himself’ in musicals after leaving Strictly Come Dancing-Andrew Williams-Entertainment – Metro
Kevin says he won’t be taking a break from performing when his baby with Stacey Dooley arrives.
Playing Scott Hastings in Strictly Ballroom is a ‘dream role’ for Kevin (Picture: Getty Images/BBC)
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Kevin Clifton, 40, is making a lifelong dream come true – treading the boards playing Scott Hastings in the musical adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s cult 1992 film Strictly Ballroom.
‘I saw the film when I was 10 and I fell in love with it. My family competed in the ballroom dancing world and it felt like it was about my life. Scott Hastings became a hero to me. I watched it obsessively for years. When I was 10 I told my parents, “One day this will be on stage and I’ll play Scott Hastings.’’’
As he grew up, and went from competing in international dance competitions as a child to an adult, he found his life was imitating art. The film depicts Scott’s struggle trying to express himself in the restrictive world of ballroom dancing and as Kevin’s career progressed he began to feel a similar way.
‘Everyone in his family is a dancer, it’s Scott’s dream to win the Pan Pacifics and it was my dream to win at Blackpool, but he got bored with the competition world and I did too. I left in my twenties.
‘I became more interested in trying to entertain the audience than trying to win the competition. My coaches weren’t on board with that. They’d say, “Don’t you want to win the competition?”, and I’d say, “I do but I’d rather come fifth and really entertain the audience than be boring and win.”’
Kevin stopped competing and joined dance company Burn The Floor instead, performing on Broadway before finally joining Strictly as a dancer in 2013.
Kevin and EastEnders actress Maisie Smith are currently on tour with Strictly Ballroom The Musical (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Does the musical and film reflect what ballroom dancing was like at the time?
‘Ballroom and Latin changes through the years,’ says Kevin. ‘When the film is set, in the early 1990s, it had been influenced by disco and it was about trying to out-do other people on the floor and doing it bigger in brighter coloured outfits.
‘Scott wants to express from within and finds the over the top presentation a bit pointless. It’s pretty accurate and spot on.’
Baz Luhrmann’s cult 1992 film Strictly Ballroom was a huge inspiration to Kevin when he danced as a child (Picture: Moviestore/Rex/Shutterstock)
Kevin felt he was similar to the role of Scott Hastings (Picture: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock)
Has much changed? Would Kevin find it easier to stay competing in ballroom today?
‘It would be easier but I still wouldn’t want to do it. It’s quite a political world and I don’t think that will ever change. The coaches are also the judges.
‘If a certain judge is coaching a certain couple they are more inclined to mark that couple well when they are judging. I struggled with being told, “You have to dance like this to impress these judges and you have to get on this person’s side if you want to win this competition.”
‘I was always more like, “I would just rather dance well.” I wanted to express myself, dance well and entertain the audience, that was my priority.’
Kevin reached the Strictly Come Dancing finals with celebrities Susanna Reid, Frankie Bridge, Kellie Bright and Louise Redknapp before finally winning with TV documentary presenter (and now Kevin’s partner) Stacey Dooley in 2018. The pair are now expecting their first child.
Kevin won the Glitterball trophy in 2018 with now-girlfriend Stacey Dooley (Picture: PA)
He admits he still watches Strictly after leaving the show in 2019 (Picture: PA)
After leaving the show in 2019, Kevin has starred in musicals including Rock Of Ages, but initially found the transition challenging.
‘There might have been a tendency for me to over-prove myself in a couple of musicals I’ve done,’ says Kevin.
‘When I was doing Singin’ In The Rain and was first rehearsing Make ‘Em Laugh I was oversinging it. The musical director said, “Stop trying to prove to me you can sing. If you couldn’t sing you wouldn’t have got the job. Just tell the story.”
‘But there was a part of me that felt I had to prove myself or people would think I only got the job because I was on Strictly. I’m starting to let that go now.’
Kevin says he won’t be taking a break from performing when his baby with Stacey arrives (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Kevin still watches Strictly as a viewer but says he doesn’t miss having to devise new choreography each week.
Is he also relieved not to be stuck with celebrities who can’t dance? The dancers must surely look at the celebrities coming through the door and think, ‘I hope I don’t get that one?’
‘I didn’t because for me it was all about the entertainment,’ he says. ‘Of course you want to win but the priority for me was entertainment. I’d look at the celebrities and think they’ve all got something to give – it’s just a question of finding it. I enjoyed the challenge of that.’
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Kevin has written a TV show that he hopes will go into production. He also wants to add non-musical stage dramas to his repertoire – but that’s for the future when this ten-month Strictly Ballroom tour finishes.
There are also big personal changes on the way. Will he be taking a break from the show when the baby is born?
‘Not that I know of,’ he says ‘We’re going to have to figure all that out…’
Until then he will be enjoying his childhood ambition becoming a reality.
‘It’s been a 30-year dream to do this show and it’s finally happening,’ says Kevin.
Strictly Ballroom is at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, until October 8, and on tour until July 2023
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