Kevin Clifton has responded to a fan criticising his dance with Stacey Dooley on Saturday night's episode of Strictly Come Dancing. The routine, for Musical Week, saw Stacey take on the tragic role of Fantine in Les Miserables as the pair danced to I Dreamed a Dream, and one user thought that the routine was too cheerful, tweeting: "Though I think smiling was a huge mistake. Fantine dies in poverty, so not really a smiley character!" Kevin replied to the message, explaining that Stacey smiled as part of a dream sequence in the dance, writing: "The point was she goes into the dream she is singing about in her mind for a short while. Dreaming about the life she wishes she had. At the end she wakes up again alone in poverty."
Stacey played Fantine in the dance routine
The professional dancer also replied to fans praising the routine, with one writing: "Totally understood the story. It's the contrast between dream and reality. At the height of the song it's the crossover between her realisation that, 'There are dreams that cannot be' and that she's destined to a life of poverty (hence the return of the cloak). Well done Kevin," replying: "Exactly. Yes this is what we wanted to express with the dance."
READ: Karen Clifton and Charles Venn leave Strictly following emotional week
The couple scored 38 for the dance, with Shirley Ballas telling them: "There are some times in our life when we do something so magical that we capture it in our heart and stay there forever, and that was that. It was seamless. I loved everything from beginning to end." Bruno Tonioli added: "Look what you've done to me, I'm a mess. That was so special, I really forgot who I was. That really was so special." Craig scored the dance a nine, and explained: "It wasn't technically perfect, but that didn't matter because you took this away. It was real, honest and truthful."
Exclusive: Ashley Roberts opens up about looking for love and life on Strictly
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
