Strictly champ Stacey Dooley wishes boyfriend Kevin Clifton good luck ahead of first live show as they kiss on the sofa
STACEY Dooley wished boyfriend Kevin Clifton well a ahead of the first live Strictly Come Dancing show tonight.
The reigning champions got together earlier this year after Stacey, 32, split from longterm boyfriend Sam Tucknott, and Stacey is backing her new man for more success.
Get all the dancing action of the first live show on our Strictly 2019 live blog.
Tonight, Kevin, 36, will take to the dance floor for the first time with his 2019 celebrity partner Anneka Rice, and Stacey was keen to wish her beau luck.
Sharing the sweet snap on her Instagram this morning, Stacey wrote: “Go get ‘em reigning champ, Good luck to the class of 2019.”
In the picture, the couple can be seen snuggling up on the sofa in matching black and grey outfits.
Kevin gave Stacey a kiss on the top of her head as she leaned into him and smiled at the camera.
The couple were paired together for the 2018 series, going on to win the Glitterball Trophy.
However, during last week’s documentary Strictly: The Professionals, Kevin revealed he almost didn’t get the chance to pair up with the presenter.
Before the celebrities and professionals are paired up for the start of each series, they perform a sexy salsa in a circle, constantly swapping partners, as producers decide who will look good together.
But since so many pairs have also ended up in bed, some of the pros also refer to it as The Speed Dating Circle.
Kevin said: “Last year with Stacey in the salsa circle I was going for it — bang, bang, bang — overdoing it.
“And then at one point we were on a coffee break and AJ interrupted us in the middle of us talking and took her away, because he wanted to get to know and see what she was about. I was like, ‘It’s not Love Island, mate!’ ”
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The programme featured Kevin recalling his battle with AJ over Stacey to fellow pro Aljaz Skorjanec, who responded: “He broke your heart!”
Katya Jones also said that three-times-married Kevin was always the pro who was the most determined to bag a particular woman.
She added: “You can really see when somebody tries to show there’s extra chemistry. For me, it’s Kevin — you can always see it.”
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