Yahoo News Strictly's Kevin thanks Stacey for series win as he reflects on personal life
Strictly Come Dancing professional Kevin Clifton has thanked his 2018 partner Stacey Dooley for helping him win the series for the first time last year as he opened up about some of the struggles he's faced in recent years.
Last year, Kevin and his Strictly co-star Karen Clifton confirmed that they were getting divorced, while more recently Kevin and Stacey have been at the centre of intense rumours that they are in a relationship.
Speaking at the opening night of his dance show Burn the Floor on Thursday (April 18), Kevin did not confirm or deny the rumours, but did thank Stacey while talking about his recent personal struggles.
The star said (via The Mirror): "In the last couple of years I've seen massive upheaval in my personal life and it hasn't always been easy.
Related: Strictly Come Dancing 2019 cast: All the line-up rumours you need to know about
"There have been a lot of things thrown at me. At times I've struggled. And the times I've struggled and I was in a bit of a rut I didn’t know what to do. It gets difficult and I'm not the best at dealing with it.
"But at that point Burn The Floor stepped in again and the producers gave me a call and said, 'Why don’t you come home'. So it felt right and I came home.
"And thanks to Miss Stacey Dooley, I can finally say I'm the Strictly champion after six years of trying. It's a miracle."
Stacey herself has responded to the rumours, tweeting: "Anyone with any adult life experience knows there are 2 sides to every story.
"I haven't got the time or energy to correct some of the utter nonsense I've read on here."
Strictly Come Dancing returns for its 2019 series on BBC One later this year, with Rylan Clark-Neal joining It Takes Two as new host.
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