Karen and Kevin Clifton (Credit: BBC)
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Kevin Clifton’s ex-wife Karen rushes to hug him after Strictly win

A true mark of the gentleman

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It was an understandably emotional night for Kevin Clifton, as he and partner Stacey Dooley were crowned winners of Strictly Come Dancing.

The dancing pro had waited six years for this moment, having guided four of his previous five partners to the final.

There were stinging eyes across the nation as the Grimsby lad openly sobbed, but what really put a lump in viewers’ throats was his ex-wife Karen.

The fellow Strictly pro flew on stage to wrap herself around her former husband in celebration of his triumph.

So. Much. LOVE. (Credit: BBC)

It was a touching moment, not least as Kevin had just this week hinted at what a difficult year it had been after their split.

Appearing on Friday’s spin-off show It Takes Two, he said to Stacey: “I just want to say thank you to you, not only just for the hard work you’ve put in to becoming the beautiful dancer that you’ve become, but I’ve had one of the craziest years of my life.

“You’ve just been so nice… I’ve enjoyed it so much.”

Karen, who was partnered with Charles Venn this series, split from Kevin back in March.

Charles Venn and Karen Clifton on Strictly's It Takes Two
Karen with her 2018 partner Charles (Credit: BBC)

She told Hello Magazine: “As performers with our fans and as a couple with our family, we have shared so much, so no matter what has happened, we can continue.

“Things don’t have to fall apart. Throughout the years we have had a good friendship, and that is a great base.”

Kevin added: “I think there is a lot of pressure on people to be perfect all the time, and so there is this fairytale image of everything, but at the end of the day we are just like other people.

“We are just two people who love what we do and we never want to pretend to our fans or to anybody.”

Viewers on Twitter naturally couldn’t wait to gush over the precious moment…


Kaggie Hyland
Editor-in-Chief