When Kevin Clifton was 10 years old, he watched the film Strictly Ballroom and immediately knew that he wanted to play the lead character of Scott Hastings when he grew up. Three decades later, Kevin’s dream has come true. The former Strictly Come Dancing star is this spring headlining the UK & Ireland tour of Strictly Ballroom The Musical.

“It’s an iconic story that everyone knows and can quote lines from,” says Kevin. “And on stage it’s a massively glitzy and glamorous spectacle. It’s a lot of fun - a romantic comedy with lots of great dancing.”
His co-star in the show, Maisie Smith, with whom he danced on the Children In Need Strictly Come Dancing special in 2019, is just as excited to be playing fledgling hoofer Fran. “It combines all my favourite things: singing, dancing, acting, sequins, and a bit of glitz & glamour,” says the former EastEnders actress and Strictly Come Dancing finalist, who is making her musical theatre debut. “It’s such an amazing role to play in my first-ever musical. It’s such a feelgood show, and everyone will come out of the theatre feeling the love and the excitement. And it’s got such great dancing and music in it - Latin flavours, modern tracks and some real classics.”

Adapted from the film by creators Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce - and on this occasion directed and co-choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood - Strictly Ballroom The Musical revolves around rebellious Australian dancer Scott, who causes a commotion with his radical moves and raises eyebrows when he opts to dance with absolute beginner Fran. 

Kevin well understands Scott’s desire to dance his own way rather than follow the rulebook: “I’m not sure whether it was something in me or whether it was totally inspired by the movie, but I always felt the same way. I was always more obsessed with entertaining an audience than winning a competition. My coaches used to go nuts when I was competing because I would say to them ‘I would rather energise the crowd, make sure they have a great time and me come fifth in the competition, than win whilst being a bit boring.’
“Even on Strictly Come Dancing, I would always chase an audience reaction instead of a 10 from the judges. I’ve always had that in me.” 

Strictly Ballroom began life as a short stage play that Baz Luhrmann devised with his classmates in 1984, when he was studying at Sydney’s National Institute of the Dramatic Arts. After being expanded into a longer version, it caught the eye of Australian music executive Ted Albert, who offered to turn it into a film. Luhrmann insisted that he helm the movie himself - he was already an established theatre director - and Strictly Ballroom was released in 1992, going on to become one of the most successful Australian films of all time. Earning a Golden Globe nomination for best picture, it also bagged three BAFTA awards for its costumes, production design and music score. 

In 2014, Luhrmann and co-writer Craig Pearce developed a full-blown stage musical version.
The show’s first-ever UK & Ireland tour boasts a cast of more than 20 hugely talented performers and includes such familiar songs as Love Is In The Air and Time After Time. New music from Sia, David Foster and Eddie Perfect, among others, also features. 

Too young to have seen the film when it first came out, Maisie Smith later caught it on TV and loved it. “The first time, I was just watching the dancing, so I’ve watched it again to prepare for the tour and it feels like the perfect fit for me,” says the 20-year-old stage school graduate, who was just six when she first played Tiffany Butcher in EastEnders. 

Maisie can very much relate to her character of Fran: “She’s young and rebellious. She’s also ambitious and cheeky, so it’s the perfect role for me to play, although she’s probably a little more confident than I am.”

Maisie is happy to be reunited with her Children In Need dancing partner, four years after she and Kevin bagged the Glitterball trophy. “We got on so well. It’s so nice to be dancing together again, and this time we’ve got a whole tour rather than just a week.”

Kevin concurs: “We worked really well together, even though it was only for that one week, so it’s great to be reunited. I can’t wait for people to see what Maisie can do. We’ve seen her dancing and acting, but she’s also a really good singer. 

“As for the show itself, I know the people who come to see it are going to have an amazing time, and that’s what everyone needs right now. It’s as good as musical theatre gets, with great singing, great dancing and a love story at its heart.”

Strictly Ballroom shows at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Mon 13 - Sat 18 February