Stacey Dooley: ‘Can’t bear it’ Kevin Clifton’s partner on Strictly moment she can’t watch
STACEY DOOLEY, who won Strictly Come Dancing alongside her boyfriend Kevin Clifton in December, has opened up about a “horrible” moment which she struggles to think about.
Stacey Dooley celebrates Kevin Clifton’s birthday
Stacey Dooley, 32, lifted the Glitterball Trophy on Strictly Come Dancing last year, but the journalist has revealed a time on the show where she struggled. The TV personality spoke candidly with Angela Scanlon on the latest episode of the latter’s new podcast, Thanks A Million, where the pair discussed Stacey’s intense work life and her time on the BBC dance competition. The Strictly champion revealed during the second week of the show, her Cha Cha Cha performance did not go to plan, and she “cringes” even thinking about it. Stacey spilled: “So the first couple of weeks I was filming Glow Up and didn’t have the time [for Strictly rehearsals] so I was doing sort of three hours a day.
I can’t even bear it
“But you have two weeks on the initial dance so they ease you in quite gently, then after that, I had a really horrible week two.
“I did the Cha Cha Cha and it was just absolutely…I can’t even bear it, so cringe.”
The documentary-filmmaker eventually decided to up her game as she increased her rehearsal time.
She said: “Strictly for me was total escapism. Really thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is hard work, like physically it’s very demanding.
“And I was so s**t at the start, I was dancing against people like Faye [Tozer] and Ashley [Roberts] who were incredible – I was so embarrassed, I was mortified.”
She continued: “So I thought I have to put in more hours than everyone else to just not look ridiculous.
“It wasn’t even about looking great, it was about not looking horrendous. So I was dancing maybe sort of 10 or 12 hours a day.”
Fortunately, for the small-screen star she went on to progress to the finals and was later crowned the winner of Strictly Come Dancing.
The Glow Up host was pictured arm-in-arm with the Strictly professional in a series of photos.
It is the first birthday they are celebrating as a couple, after first meeting on the BBC show last year.
In one intimate shot, Stacey was seen with her back to the camera, as Kevin held a protective arm around her.
A second, monochrome offering saw the pair beaming at the camera, as the presenter wowed in an all-silver ensemble.
Stacey captioned the sweet photo: “Happy bday king Kev.”
She later shared a video of the birthday celebrations alongside the couple’s party guests.
The pair confirmed they were dating earlier this year, following her split from boyfriend Sam Tucknott.