Strictly Come Dancing star making return to show four years after quitting

24 October 2023 , 19:41

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Strictly Come Dancing star making return to show four years after quitting

Strictly Come Dancing star Kevin Clifton will be making a big return to the BBC show - four years after he quit.

Professional dancer Kevin will make his return to the BBC programme's sister show It Takes Two next week, years after he stepped down as a professional on the BBC's main show. Fleur East announced today that Kevin will appear on next Tuesday's Halloween edition of It Takes Two, replacing his sister Joanne Clifton who will have a week off. He will also make multiple appearances throughout the series, as the siblings present Choreography Corner.

Earlier in this series, Fleur confirmed Kevin would be standing in for Joanne. She said: "Choreography corner is a family affair this year isn't it Joanne? Yes it's someone called Kevin, dunno if you know him, he came second in 2016 when I won."

Kevin quit Strictly four years ago (PA)

He will be back for the show's spin-off programme It Takes Two (PA)

Kevin quit the show four years ago, and in an emotional statement, he thanked the fans as well as his celebrity partners, including Stacey Dooley, who he is now in a relationship with after meeting on the show.

He said at the time: "To the entire Strictly family. The past 7 years have been some of the most wonderful years of my life. I am grateful to the BBC and Strictly Come Dancing for giving me the opportunity to have been a part of something truly special. Since first being called 'Kevin From Grimsby' by Sir Bruce Forsyth in 2013 I have experienced the highs of 5 finals, winning a Guinness World record on It Takes Two, the Strictly Arena tour Glitterball and then the ultimate of winning the 2018 series with Stacey Dooley.

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"After finishing last series with the Children In Need trophy and the Christmas Special I want to leave on a high and have therefore decided the time has come to move on and focus on other areas of my life and career."

Back in 2020, Kevin explained he had decided to leave as he didn't want to be the oldest one in the cast. "Me leaving gives younger dancers the chance to come through now. Nobody is bigger than the show," he said at the time.

"At age 23 it would be different. I’d look at it and think, ‘I can stay on this for the next ten or 15 years’, but at 37 years old I was thinking, ‘I’m going to turn 38.' If it’s going to be similar to what I have already done I don’t see myself doing it into my forties. I have got so many other interests and I thought, 'I’ll have to leave at some point.'"

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Jasmine Allday