Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Kevin Clifton was rejected from Strictly Come Dancing the first time he auditioned – find out why

Kevin joked that he used to be an emo kid

kevin clifton 1
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
Share this:

Although Kevin Clifton is Strictly Come Dancing's reigning champion after winning the Glitterball trophy in 2018, the professional dancer revealed that he was rejected the first time he auditioned for the popular BBC show! Chatting on This Morning, Kevin revealed that he used to dress as a goth when he was younger, and it spoiled his chances of appearing on the show. He explained: "I was a goth. I've always been a massive rock and roll fan and I used to dress like that fancying myself as a bit of a wannabe rock star and the first time I auditioned for Strictly Come Dancing I looked like that, I got an absolute no. We've got no need for some sort of emo kid on Strictly Come Dancing!"

kevin clifton rock© Photo: Instagram

Kevin will star as rock star Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages

The 36-year-old admitted that he changed his look afterwards, telling Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: "I realised that I was never going to be a rock star and me dressing like that walking down the streets of Grimsby looked a bit silly!" Kevin is now playing the role of rock star Stacey Jacks in the popular musical Rock of Ages, and revealed how much he was looking forward to living out his dream as a rockstar! "I just fell in love with [Rock of Ages] when I first saw it in New York back in 2009," he said. "I'm a big fan of rock and of musical theatre – it's my favourite musical so when this opportunity came up I was like, 'I have to do this.' […] This is my chance to be Stacee Jaxx the rock star!"

READ: Strictly's Kevin Clifton gets singing lessons after struggling – see video

Kevin recently admitted that he was having trouble with one of his songs from the show, and shared an Instagram story introducing his singing teacher, Lucy, who had been helping him with it. In the clip, he said: "Hey everyone, so I've just had a wicked singing lesson, this is my singing teacher Lucy from Voice Unlocked. I'm doing Rock of Ages opening in Glasgow in just over a week's time and there's one of the songs that I was struggling with."

READ: Strictly's Shirley Ballas' new actor boyfriend revealed

Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.