Stacey Dooley feared for boyfriend Kevin Clifton after he was left out of work for more than a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The former Strictly Come Dancing professional announced his departure from the hit BBC One show in March 2020, as he revealed he would be exploring other opportunities and joined the UK tour of hit musical Strictly Ballroom.
However, that was postponed until September 2022 due to the Covid outbreak and subsequent lockdowns, leaving Kevin, 39, unemployed and stuck at the home he shares with girlfriend Stacey.
During an episode of the TV presenter’s 5 Live podcast Fresh Starts, Stacey revealed she was concerned about Kevin as he was left in their flat while she went out to work.
The dancer was left devastated when his agent called him after he’d landed the role on Strictly Ballroom to tell him the show had been postponed for over a year.
“That was a real difficult moment wasn’t it? I was going, ‘right, as I sit here, right now, I've got nothing until September 22 in the diary…’” he told Stacey.
“A couple of months, pass, theatres aren't opening. It's not looking like they're going to open any time soon. I've left the biggest TV show to do this, and now... I'm sat on the sofa doing nothing,” Kevin candidly shared.
Stacey said she was feeling guilty as her job in TV meant that she was in demand, and she was heartbroken to leave Kevin on his own.
“You didn’t do anything for over a year and I remember you trying to keep yourself busy. I just felt for you because I was in a slightly different position,” she said.
Stacey, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 with Kevin, was full of praise for her boyfriend, who she said was cheering her on despite his own career woes.
“He's celebrating the work coming in for me and I thought Kevin is going to sit at home and drive himself nuts because this is just so foreign, this is so unfamiliar to him,” she sadly recalled, adding that the dancer felt “wobbly” over the Covid uncertainty.
Kevin tried to keep himself as busy as possible while Stacey was out at work, but was desperate to get back on stage performing once again, and admitted he felt “redundant”.
“I was really pleased that you got to go and work … but it’s hard when you’re sat at home going, ‘I wish I could just work. I don't know what else I can do,” he explained.
“I can busy myself as much as possible at home… it starts feeling a bit redundant... I'm not used to having all that time on my hands. It felt strange,” Kevin added.
Luckily, the dancer ended up landing the role of Cosmo in the musical Singin’ In The Rain, and he made his debut over the summer, alongside Steps singer Faye Tozer.
He’s now set to tour the UK with the critically-acclaimed production, as well as his role in Strictly Ballroom, and Stacey was over the moon at her beau’s career turnaround after 12 months of misery.
“I'm just so made up for you. I always knew, you know, they can't close theatres forever,” she gushed. “Well done, sweetheart. It’s your fresh start, baby!”
