THE CLIFTON family have become a formidable force on Strictly – with Kevin, his sister Joanne and ex-wife Karen at the forefront of the pro dancers.
But now Karen wants to cut ties with the clan completely following Kevin’s new romance with Stacey Dooley.
She is dropping Kevin’s surname and returning to her maiden name, Karen Hauer for the new series of the dance show.
Sources close to the former couple say tensions reached an all-time high after Kevin denied having feelings for TV host Stacey, who he won the show with in December last year.
A TV insider revealed: “Karen confronted Kevin about his relationship with Stacey at the end of the last series but he was adamant it was purely platonic.
“Kevin and Stacey insist they only started dating officially this month but Karen is still annoyed he wasn’t more honest about the situation.
“She had been considering changing her name for a while but this has cemented her decision.
“This is Kevin’s business but she no longer wants to be linked to him. When the next series of Strictly starts she’ll be known as Karen Hauer.”
Karen and Kevin wed in 2015, but split in March last year.
Karen has moved on by dating opera singer David Webb – while Kevin referred to his partnership with Stacey as a “miracle” at the first night of his new tour on Thursday.
Three-times divorced Kevin met Karen while he was still married to his second ex-wife Clare Craze.
Dancer Clare told The Sun on Sunday she took an overdose days after Kevin told her their marriage was over amid claims he cheated on her with Karen.
A week ago, Stacey’s ex-boyfriend Sam Tucknott told how they became the 15th couple to fall victim to the Strictly curse after he read text messages between her and Kevin including one telling Stacey: “I love you.”
Sam branded Kevin a “slippery, slimy snake” and blamed him for breaking up their five-year relationship.
Somehow I don’t think his latest romance will be Kevin’s last.
STRICTLY’s Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec are used to performing a showstopper – but they feared they would be the victims of one.
The opening night of their theatre show was put at risk by the Extinction Rebellion protest after cops blocked routes to the London They Palladium. They were reluctant to move the barricade – until they heard Janette and Aljaz were the stars taking to the stage.
A source said: “Police had refused any vehicles going through Oxford Circus because of the protesters. One officer told show staff, ‘You can’t go in. The show won’t happen.’
“But someone said to them, ‘What if we told you it was for some Strictly Come Dancing stars?’ Those were the magic words and police moved the barricades.”
The Remembering The Movies show, which sees the dancers re-enact classic film routines, then went off without a hitch on Saturday.
Aljaz said afterwards: “That’s the magic of Strictly, the police must like us, we had heard it might not be able to happen.”
RIHANNA finally looks ready to get something off her chest after three years with no new music.
The superstar slipped into this sexy yellow corset and green coat during a shoot for Vogue Australia to promote her lingerie range Savage X Fenty.
Fans have been predicting that Rihanna’s ninth album is imminent after she shared an image of a baby wearing headphones and in a recording studio.
SHERIDAN Smith called her boyfriend Jamie Horn “hubby” in a photo of them shared on Twitter – sparking rumours the pair had got married.
But I can confirm the actress hasn’t yet walked up the aisle. Fans had hoped the now-deleted tweet meant Sheridan was waiting for the right moment to announce her nuptials.
A source said: “Sheridan and Jamie are engaged but there’s been no wedding yet.”
Sheridan got engaged to the former insurance broker in May last year after they met through dating app Tinder.
MATHS whizz Carol Vorderman has a new fan to add to her multiplying collection – after subtracting her clothes for saucy selfies this month.
Robbie Williams has admitted his secret crush on the ex Countdown regular, who is 13 years his senior.
On an Instagram live video this weekend, the singer, married to Ayda Field, said: “Snog, Marry, Avoid, I won’t play that game but I will say Carol Vorderman would get it.”
Robbie also opened up about his new-found love of art adding: “I’ve been doing art in my garage, which is where we normally do boxing, so we’ve had to do boxing outside on the tennis court instead. I was dogs mess at boxing.”
Maybe Carol will let him paint a picture of her.
WILL Smith surprised audiences at Coachella festival in California by performing with his singer son. The actor, who enjoyed a successful rapping career in the 1990s, joined Jaden for a rendition of Icon.
A host of A-listers have joined forces with US rapper Lil Dicky for his charity single, Earth.
Leonardo DiCaprio appears as his cartoon self in the song that aims to raise awareness about climate change.
Others taking part include Ariana Grande, as a zebra, Justin Beiber as a bottom-baring baboon and Ed Sheeran as a koala.
Lil Dicky had to recruit comedian Kevin Hart after failing to get hold of Kanye West. He said: “Kanye was pretty unreachable. So I reached out to Kevin Hart and asked, ‘Would you play Kanye?’ and he said yes.”
SATURDAY was the first anniversay of his death and Sunday Avicii’s track SOS, from the album Tim, charted at No 11.
Last week’s most streamed singles on Spotify
