One of the stars of Strictly Come Dancing was in the North-East this week to take part in a charity sports event. Kevin Clifton stopped off in Darlington, where he spoke to Hannah Chapman about dance, football and Bafta success

A MONDAY night in Blyth is a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the BBC’s sequin-strewn hit show Strictly Come Dancing, but Kevin, or Kevin from Grimsby as he is perhaps better known, says he jumped at the chance to swap his dancing shoes for football boots for a charity game in the town.

He lined up alongside former Newcastle United players Steve Howey and Tino Asprilla for the match at Blyth Spartans’ Croft Park ground earlier this month.

The game raised thousands of pounds for local charities, and was part of a national tour taking in various football stadiums finishing at Wembley on Sunday (May 22), when Morpeth Town play in the final of the FA Vase.

Kevin will no doubt be more interested in the match which follows – Grimsby Town versus Halifax in the FA Trophy - although he is a keen Scunthorpe United fan.

He got involved with the charity project through best friend Anthony Rutherford, a professional dancer from Bedlington and presenter of the North East Football Show, which organised the match and tour.

The pair stopped off at Darlington’s Paragon strength and conditioning gym on their way to film at Middlesbrough’s Rockliffe Hall training ground, along with Les Langley, co-presenter of the show, which is screened on the Made in Tyne and Wear digital channel.

Kevin has featured on the programme doing various challenges, and says he was excited when he was asked to take part in the charity football game. He was only meant to be playing for five minutes for fear of picking up an injury, but ended up staying on at left back for the whole first half.

“I did keep getting myself into good positions,” he says. “But I didn’t shout for the ball just in case it came over and I got injured.”

He had plenty of guidance during the game from central defender Steve Howey.

“He came over beforehand and said ‘What’s your name?’ I said ‘Kev’. He said ‘I’m going to shout at you. A lot’.

“I was just running around all over but it was great fun.”

Kevin joined the cast of professionals on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and has so far danced with breakfast TV presenter Susanna Reid, singer Frankie Bridge and Eastenders actress Kellie Bright, finishing as runner up each time. His wife, Karen Hauer is also one of the professional dancers on the show.

Earlier this month, Strictly won its first ever TV Bafta for best entertainment programme.

“Everyone is made-up,” says Kevin. “It’s a massive honour.

“No-one expected it to go past about five or six years but it’s been on for 13 now and still going strong.”

The show’s dancers choreograph all their own routines, and Kevin says the celebrities do an amazing job of getting to grips with complex steps in such a short space of time.

“It would take them years if they had one dance lesson a week, but because it’s really intense, they pick it up so quickly.”

He and Kellie, his partner in the 2015 series, often created characters for their dances before they started planning the steps. “We even gave them names,” says Kevin. “Kellie just soaked up everything we said to her. She really tried to apply everything.”

He says it’s important for the show’s celebrities - no matter what their ability - to have personality and commitment, and above all, not to worry about making a fool of themselves.

“Karen loved dancing with Jeremy Vine, and with Dave Myers (one of the Hairy Bikers) before him. She could take them from absolutely nothing to dancing a really big dance.”

So what has the enduring popularity of Strictly done for ballroom dancing?

Kevin says: “I feel lucky that this has come around in my generation – when people are watching primetime TV on a Saturday night and it’s ballroom dancing.”

One of his most memorable routines in 2015 saw him and Kellie perform a Viennese Waltz to Oom Pah Pah from Oliver.

“As dancers it has given us a platform to come up with new ideas and put them out there on a big scale,” he says.

Kevin will no doubt be hoping that the 2016 series of Strictly sees him finally get his hands on the much coveted glitterball trophy after his three second-place finishes. For the time being, he is making do with a rare footballing accolade - the cup his team won for their 8-2 victory in the charity match.