Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor, who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series Strictly Come Dancing, having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on the live dance show Burn the Floor. He was given the nickname "Kevin from Grimsby" by Bruce Forsyth.
Clifton appeared on Strictly Come Dancing from 2013 to 2019, appearing in every final except series fifteen and seventeen. Clifton won the sixteenth series with his celebrity partner Stacey Dooley, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2019. In March 2020, Clifton announced that he would not be returning to Strictly, stating that he wanted to focus on "other areas of his career."
Since leaving Strictly, Clifton has appeared in multiple stage productions including the UK tours of Strictly Ballroom and Chicago.
Early life Clifton started dancing ballroom and Latin as a child in his home village of Waltham, in the town of Grimsby, taught by his parents, former World Champions Keith and Judy Clifton.
He competed nationally and internationally as a child initially partnering his sister Joanne. Later, when they both chose to move on to different partners he chose Latin as his primary dance style so as not to directly compete against his sister. He later became Youth World Number 1 in Latin.
Dance Clifton is a four-time British Latin Champion and won 14 International Open titles in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Japan, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Belgium. At the time of his retirement from competitive dancing in 2007, he was ranked 7th in the world.
From January 2008 to June 2013, Clifton and his future wife Karen Hauer were principal dancers of the Burn The Floor Dance Company, performing in the show's record breaking Broadway run, as well as starring at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End. They rejoined Burn The Floor as principal dancers for a short tour of Australia and Japan in Spring 2014.
In August 2017, Kevin and Karen Clifton announced they would be touring the UK again in 2018 with their theatre tour 'Kevin and Karen Dance', following their first nationwide tour in 2017.
Strictly Come Dancing Highest and lowest scoring performances per dance
Dance Partner Highest Partner Lowest American Smooth Kellie Bright 39 Susan Calman 21 Argentine Tango Louise 40 Susanna Reid 32 Cha-Cha-Cha 38 Anneka Rice 14 Charleston Kellie BrightStacey Dooley 39 11 Foxtrot Stacey Dooley Susan Calman 18 Freestyle Kellie Bright 40 Susanna ReidStacey Dooley 36 Jive Frankie Bridge 36 Susanna Reid 28 Paso Doble Frankie BridgeStacey DooleySusanna Reid 39 Susan Calman 25 Quickstep Frankie BridgeLouiseKellie BrightSusanna Reid 37 Stacey Dooley 24 Rumba Frankie BridgeKellie Bright 34 Louise 33 Salsa Susanna Reid 32 Samba Frankie Bridge 39 Susan Calman 20 Street/Commercial Stacey Dooley 36 Tango Kellie Bright 40 Kellie BrightSusan Calman 27 Viennese Waltz Frankie Bridge 38 Susan Calman 20 Waltz Louise 39 Anneka Rice 19
In 2013, Clifton appeared on series 11 of Strictly Come Dancing and was partnered with Susanna Reid. He had previously auditioned for the show with his partner Karen Hauer, but they had only needed a female dancer at the time, so he was instead employed as a choreographer for the show in 2012. In the 2013 Blackpool performance of the show, he was joined in the opening dance by his family. On the same show, Reid and Clifton scored 39/40 for their paso doble, putting them at the top of the leaderboard. He won the 2013 Strictly Come Dancing Pro Challenge becoming the Guinness World Records holder for most Drunken Sailors in 30 seconds The couple's popularity ensured they reached the final, on 21 December, where they finished as runners up with Natalie Gumede behind model Abbey Clancy.
In 2014's series 12 of Strictly Come Dancing Clifton was paired with pop star Frankie Bridge. They were declared the runners-up with Simon Webbe beaten by Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev. In 2015, Clifton, recently married to co-professional dancer Karen Hauer, returned for the thirteenth series of the show and was partnered up with EastEnders actress Kellie Bright. Bright and Clifton scored a perfect 40 for their Tango and Showdance and eventually finished as joint runners up with Georgia May Foote and Giovanni Pernice.
Clifton has also taken part in the 'Strictly live tour'. For the 2014 tour he continued his partnership with series 11 partner, Susanna Reid. He was due to dance again with Frankie Bridge for the 2015 tour, but she had to pull out due to pregnancy, he instead danced with series 6 contestant Rachel Stevens. Clifton and Bridge were however reunited for the 2016 tour.
In 2016, Clifton again took part in Strictly Come Dancing, where he partnered Eternal singer and media personality Louise Redknapp, AKA Louise. On 17 December 2016, Clifton became the first professional dancer in the show's history to compete in four consecutive finals; he was also the only professional dancer not to be in the dance-off. For the fourth time, Clifton finished as a series runner-up, after he and Redknapp lost out in the final result to Ore Oduba and Ore's partner (Kevin's sister), Joanne.
For series 15 in 2017, Clifton was partnered with Scottish comedian Susan Calman. They were eliminated on week 10, after a dance-off against Alexandra Burke and Gorka Márquez. This was the first time Clifton did not make it to the final.
For series 16, in 2018, Clifton was partnered with English television presenter and journalist, Stacey Dooley. The couple were the series winners.
He partnered TV host Anneka Rice for series 17, in 2019, they were the second couple to be eliminated after the judges chose to save David James and Nadiya Bychkova; making this Clifton's shortest series to date. He did however return to dance with former footballer Alex Scott for weeks 6 & 7 while Scott's normal partner Neil Jones was recovering from an injury to his calf muscle. Following this series, Clifton chose to quit the show to "focus on other projects".
Series Celebrity partner Place AverageScore 11 Susanna Reid 2nd 33.8 12 Frankie Bridge 35.1 13 Kellie Bright 34.1 14 Louise 35.9 15 Susan Calman 7th 23.3 16 Stacey Dooley 1st 34.0 17 Anneka Rice 14th 14.7
Series 11 with celebrity partner Susanna Reid
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultHorwoodBussellGoodmanTonioli1 Jive / "Shake a Tail Feather"678728No Elimination2 Tango / "Locked out of Heaven"788831Safe3 Viennese waltz / "Annie's Song"8 9 9 834Safe4 Samba / "Whenever, Wherever"678829Safe5 American Smooth / "On the Sunny Side of the Street"8 88832Safe6 Charleston / "Bad Moon Rising"889934Safe7 Waltz / "You Light Up My Life"999936Safe8 Paso doble / "Les Toreadors"9 10 10 1039Safe9 Cha-cha-cha / "Hound Dog"788831Safe10 Quickstep / "Good Morning"789933Safe11 Argentine tango / "Smooth Criminal"8 88832Safe12 Foxtrot / "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"9 9101038Safe Salsa / "Move Your Feet"8 8883213 Quickstep / "Good Morning"89101037Runners-up Freestyle / "Your Song"9 99936 Paso doble / "Les Toreadors"9 10101039
Series 12 with celebrity partner Frankie Bridge
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultHorwoodBussellGoodmanTonioli1 Waltz / "Someone like You"778830No Elimination2 Charleston / "Happy Days"778830Safe3 Paso doble / "America"8 9 9 9351Safe4 Cha-cha-cha / "Call Me Maybe"888832Safe5 Foxtrot / "Daydream Believer"8 88832Safe6 Tango / "Defying Gravity"9991037Safe7 Samba / "La Bamba"789832Safe8 Quickstep / "Town Called Malice"8 9 10 1037Safe9 Viennese waltz / "What's New Pussycat?"99101038Safe10 Jive / "Surfin' USA"9 99936Safe11 Salsa / "Work"8 98934Safe12 Rumba / "Somewhere Only We Know"7 891034Safe Argentine tango / "The 5th"9 910103813 Samba / "La Bamba"9 10101039Runners-up Freestyle / "Get Happy"9 9101038 Paso doble / "America"9 10101039
1 Week 3 featured Donny Osmond as a guest judge, he scored Frankie and Kevin a 10, making their official total 45
Series 13 with celebrity partner Kellie Bright
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultHorwoodBussellGoodmanTonioli1 Tango / "You Really Got Me"677727No Elimination2 Cha-cha-cha / "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"677727Safe3 Charleston / "Cantina Band"8 8 8 832Safe4 Foxtrot / "Dream a Little Dream of Me"888832Safe5 Jive / "One Way or Another"8 99935Safe6 Paso doble / "School's Out"777728Safe7 Waltz / "Love Ain't Here Anymore"888832Bottom Two8 Samba / "Boom! Shake the Room"9 8 7 933Safe9 Quickstep / "9 to 5"9991037Safe10 Salsa / "I Want You Back"8 89934Bottom Two11 Viennese waltz / "Oom-Pah-Pah"9 99936Safe12 Rumba / "Songbird"9 89834Safe American Smooth / "Let's Face the Music and Dance"9 1010103913 Tango / "You Really Got Me"10 10101040Runners-up Freestyle / "The Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-Car Line"10 10101040 Charleston / "Cantina Band"9 10101039
Series 14 with celebrity partner Louise
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultHorwoodBussellGoodmanTonioli1 Jive / "Jump, Jive an' Wail"878831No Elimination2 Viennese waltz / "Hallelujah"888832Safe3 Cha-cha-cha / "Flashdance... What a Feeling"7 8 8 831Safe4 Foxtrot / "Tears Dry on Their Own"888933Safe5 Rumba / "Always on My Mind"8 88933Safe6 Charleston / "Crazy in Love"899935Safe7 Argentine tango / "Tanguera"910101039Safe8 American Smooth / "Big Spender"9 9 9 1037Safe9 Paso doble / "Explosive"99101038Safe10 Waltz / "At This Moment"9 10101039Safe11 Quickstep / "The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!)"9 991037Safe12 Tango / "Glad All Over" Samba / "Aquarela do Brasil"9999991093736Safe13 Cha-cha-cha / "Flashdance... What a Feeling" Freestyle / "One Moment in Time" Argentine tango / "Tanguera"99109910101010101010383840Runners-up
Series 15 with celebrity partner Susan Calman
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultHorwoodBussellBallasTonioli1 Viennese waltz / "Mad About the Boy"555520No Elimination2 Charleston / "If You Knew Susie"367622Safe3 Samba / "Wonder Woman Theme"4 5 5 620Safe4 Quickstep / "Bring Me Sunshine"778830Safe5 Cha-cha-cha / "Shout Out to My Ex"4 57N/A1161Safe6 Foxtrot / "Killer Queen"355518Safe7 Jive / "This Ole House"678829Safe8 Tango / "Firework"5 6 8 827Safe9 Paso doble / "Scott & Fran's Paso Doble"567725Safe10 American Smooth / "Beyond the Sea"4 65621Eliminated
1 In Week 5, Bruno Tonioli took a week off the show due to his work schedule.
Series 16 with celebrity partner Stacey Dooley
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultHorwoodBussellBallasTonioli1 Quickstep / "Dancing"666624No Elimination2 Cha-cha-cha / "Came Here for Love"455620Safe3 Jive / "Happy"888832Safe4 Foxtrot / "Hi Ho Silver Lining"888933Safe5 Samba / "Tequila"8 799133Safe6 Tango / "Doctor Who theme"899935Safe7 Street/Commercial / "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"999936Safe8 Waltz / "Moon River"8 8 8 832Safe9 Salsa / "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"789933Safe10 Paso doble / "Malagueña"9 10101039Safe11 American Smooth / "I Dreamed a Dream"9 9101038Safe12Charleston / "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue"Viennese waltz / "You're My World"9810910101093936Safe13 Foxtrot / "Hi Ho Silver Lining"Freestyle / "Land of 1000 Dances"Paso doble / "Malagueña"9891091010910101010393639Winners
1Alfonso Ribeiro stood as a guest judge in place of Bruno Tonioli
Series 17 with celebrity partners Anneka Rice & Alex Scott Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultHorwoodMabuseBallasTonioli 1Cha-cha-cha / "Gloria"343414No Elimination2Waltz / "Run to You"455519Safe3Charleston / "Woo-Hoo"2333Eliminated
After fellow professional Neil Jones was injured, Clifton also partnered professional footballer Alex Scott in weeks 6 and 7. Stage career In 2010, Clifton made his musical theatre debut in Dirty Dancing The Musical at the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End, where he partnered BBC1's So You Think You Can Dance winner, Charlie Bruce.