Over the years, Strictly Come Dancing have seen many pro dancers waltz in and out of the famous Elstree Studios, with couples and even siblings in the mix. And until 2016, Joanne Clifton was dancing alongside her brother Kevin Clifton. Following the news that all the regular dancers would be back for the next series this week, many people on Twitter shared their delight that winner Kevin would be back after some reports suggested he would be pursuing other projects. After one user wrote: "Brilliant, at least he hasn't done a @JoanneClifton win and run. Very pleased to learn that," Kevin stuck up for his sister and shed light on the reason she decided to leave the show. He wrote: "But just so you know, Joanne was always going to be leaving that year regardless of her results as she wanted to pursue musical theatre after dancing for many years."
Strictly's Kevin Clifton has revealed why sister Joanne Clifton left the show
Kevin and Joanne are extremely close, and nobody was more delighted for him than his sister when he picked up the Glitterball trophy with his celebrity partner Stacey Dooley last year. Joanne shared her joy after finding out the news backstage at the Rocky Horror Show, and was visibly emotional. She later posted a photo on Instagram of herself and Ore Oduba – who won in 2016, and Kevin and Stacey, and wrote next to it: "Still tearing up this morning seeing this picture… What a year he's had... I can't even tell you just how much last night meant for him."
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Joanne won Strictly in 2016 with Ore Oduba
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Joanne has spoken about her close relationship with Kevin during an interview with HELLO! in 2016. She said: "He is one year and 11 days older than me. When we were younger, our mum used to dress us in matching colours and a lot of people thought we were twins. We've always been close but me winning Strictly has somehow brought us closer." At the time of her win, she said: "Kevin has been in the final for four years now so the first thing I said to him when the camera was turned off was 'Sorry'. He said, 'Don't ever say that again because there's no one in this room who could be more proud of you than me. You're my little sister and I want you to do well.'"
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