Fiery dance star defies the Curse of Strictly
DESPITE being knighted twice for his services to the Queen, the Rt Hon Sir Christopher Geidt is planning to keep a lower profile when he retires after ten years as Her Majesty’s private secretary. The 56-year-old, who has two daughters with his wife Emma Neil, is hoping to enjoy a quieter life when he steps down in October — in the Outer Hebrides, where he has a 365acre farm on the Isle of Lewis.
NOT JUST known for entertaining millions, Strictly Come Dancing is also famous for its curse, as so many contestants have separated from their loved ones after bowing out of the ballroom.
And with just two weeks before the new series starts filming in London, I can reveal that the tension is already simmering for one of the BBC’s star couples.
Glamorous dancer Karen Clifton has admitted her marriage to fellow Strictly professional Kevin (pictured
together) is nothing like the perfect union it appears, and that their domestic fights often result in them sleeping separately.
‘We’re not a superhuman couple, we’re normal, so when things happen, we fight,’ admits Karen. ‘We fight about things like him not taking the rubbish out. He does it more than me but that’s only because I tell him to do it.’ The Venezuelan
EX-HEALTH minister Edwina Currie plans to live to 100, but not at the cost of her family. ‘I reckon I’ve only completed two-thirds of my life so far,’ says the brunette, 35, joined the show in 2012, and met Lincolnshire-born Kevin, 34, when he joined a year later. At the time, he had been married to fellow dancer Clare Craze for six years, but they split that same year. Striking up a romance with Karen, he married her two years later. ‘When we fight we don’t always make up before going to bed. We’ll go to sleep angry,’ she adds. ‘He’s not the one who sleeps on the sofa, though, I am, because I actually like to sleep on the sofa. I like watching TV so it’s fine.’ Kevin’s sister, Strictly dancer Joanne, also fell victim to the curse after splitting from her boyfriend, actor Joe Edward- Bader, earlier this year. Previous victims of the curse include ex-rugby player Ben Cohen, who starting dating his dance partner Kristina Rihanoff after splitting from his wife, and TV newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, who left her then-partner Mike Barnard after having an affair with her dancer partner, Brendan Cole, while on the show. Happily, Karen insists she and Kevin are resilient. ‘When we fight we make up and life goes on. The best way to take care of your marriage is to make sure you communicate with each other.’ 70-year-old, adding: ‘There’s a reason why I haven’t given all my money to my children. If I get to my 90s, I’m going to need care, and that’s going to cost a lot of money.’