Kevin Clifton and Susan Calman captured the hearts of Strictly Come Dancing fans last year with their close relationship and hugely entertaining dances including the Bring Me Sunshine jive and Wonder Woman samba! Just days before the new series starts, Susan was left on the verge of tears this morning after watching a special recorded message from Kevin on ITV's Lorraine. In the recording, Kevin says: "Hey partner, I’m just here at the Strictly studios, getting ready for the new series,"then jokes: "I have to say my new dance partner has big shoes to fill, actually, tiny shoes, because of your tiny, tattooed feet. I just hope you haven’t been too truthful about you and me in the training room…"
Kevin Clifton and Susan Calman on Strictly Come Dancing
Susan's reaction was adorable, telling Lorraine: "We speak every day, he came round to my house for breakfast and I've got my tattoo of 'I love Grimsby' on my foot. Because I promised him I would get it done. Honestly, you watch Strictly and you think you’ve made a friend for life and he really is," before adding: "I'm Team Clifton all the way, it doesn't matter who he's with, I will go see them, visit them in training, I'll have a word with her, let her know the score." Susan also confessed that Kevin is her closest male friend, revealing: "He is genuinely a lovely guy and an exceptional dancer. Being honest, he’s the first close male friend I've had in a very long time, I've never been that close to a man ever in my life but it worked beautifully."
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The 43-year-old entertainer also discussed how much it meant to her to be the first gay female celebrity to take part in Strictly and touched on the support she received from presenter Claudia Winkleman, which she described as being, "a really beautiful thing." The new series of Strictly kicks off this Saturday and Kevin Clifton will be back as a professional dancer alongside his soon-to-be ex-wife Karen Clifton. The pair – who started the show in 2010 and 2011 respectively – married in 2015 but announced plans to divorce in March earlier this year. We'll find out which celebrity Kevin will be paired up with in this weekend's exciting launch show.
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