Kevin Clifton has opened up about his unusual nickname, revealing he is called Tinkerbell because he will "die" without attention. The Strictly dancer has come clean that he is compared to the narcissistic fairy from the story of Peter Pan who needs attention to stay alive. Speaking to Simon Mundie on his podcast 'Don't Tell Me The Score', Kevin heartbreakingly admitted that he has spent so long "needing" approval from other people. "That's where this Tinkerbell thing comes from. If they're not clapping me I'm going to die," he said.
"That moment of soaking up all the attention and playing that part of being the winner because that's what I was doing it all for – I wanted to be celebrated as this winner, for everybody to tell me how good I am because I feel like for so long I needed that."
Kevin opened up about his need for approval
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However, the 36-year-old, who finally won Strictly in 2018 alongside now-girlfriend Stacey Dooley, admitted that he is now able to move on from his insecurities and can spot when he is doing something purely for the benefit of being celebrated. "I've wasted so much energy doing it for approval, doing it for other people. I'm still trying to let go of it, like I don't get it right all the time. I guess my greatest achievement in winning Strictly, is at that moment I didn't want everybody's approval. I was really happy in myself that it had happened, it had finally happened, but I just wanted to get out of there, I just wanted to go home."
Kevin finally won Strictly in 2018 with now-girlfriend Stacey Dooley
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He added: "I've become very self-aware and I can clock when I'm doing things because I want attention or I want people's approval or I want them to clap. I'm much more aware now when I'm doing something because I'm dedicated to the work and I suppose that night just validated when you hear people saying 'trust the process'."
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