strictly kevin clifton mental health struggle

Kevin Clifton reflects on mental health struggles in cryptic post

The Strictly star has a loyal fan base

US Managing Editor
October 20, 2019

Strictly star Kevin Clifton left his fans worrying about him after he shared a cryptic message about mental health struggles on his Instagram account. The pro dancer shared a quote taken from the film Joker, by Arthur Fleck/Joker, which read: "The worst part about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don't." Kevin didn't write anything in the caption of his post, but his loyal fans shared their concerns about him in the comments section. "You Ok Kevin? Speak out if you need help," one wrote, while another commented: "How very true, unfortunately. Hope you're okay?" A third added: "Have a chat with a pal if you're feeling down."

Strictly star Kevin Clifton posted a cryptic message about mental health

Kevin is one of the most popular pros on Strictly and fans were gutted that he was eliminated from the competition in week two with his partner Anneka Rice. Fortunately for him, he had a lot to look forward to for the following week as he celebrated his birthday in serious style with his Strictly friends and girlfriend Stacey Dooley. Stacey pulled out all the stops to help organise his special celebration, including getting a birthday cake made for him by Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown. Just after Strictly on Saturday night, Kevin, Stacey and their friends all headed to a pub in London, where they spent the night dancing.

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Kevin was partnered with Anneka Rice in this year's Strictly

As well as working on Strictly, Kevin has also been busy promoting the upcoming Burn the Floor show, which he will star in alongside his sister Joanne Clifton, starting in March 2020. The show has proved so popular with fans that it has had to add additional dates, and is one of the first times that Kevin and Joanne will be working together following her exit from Strictly in 2016. Kevin has praised Burn the Floor in the past for helping to save his dance career after he very nearly gave up after falling out of love with it. Chatting to HELLO! in 2019, he said: "It sort of saved my whole dancing career really. I was in the zone at the time where I was going to quit ballroom dancing as I was quitting the competition world and I had grown out of love with that. And I thought I had fallen out of love with ballroom dancing."

READ: Claudia Winkleman forced to apologise on Strictly

Kevin continued: "But then I was asked to come and join the cast of Burn The Floor and I had never seen anything like it. They are very involved with storytelling and character development and it is the best sort of show that exists. A lot of the Strictly cast are Burn The Floor alumni. Burn The Floor gives everyone an extra quality. So when I was asked to go on the tour again this year I jumped at the chance. I feel I developed with the show more than anywhere else in my career."

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