KEVIN: I’ve got to do Strictly lucky leap backstage

STRICTLY star Kevin Clifton credits a wacky warmup routine for making him a dance floor sensation.

The hunk does a string of moves before every performance.

He said: “I am very superstitious. I have to go through a whole routine before a performance. I have to say a certain thing to myself and then jump up and down three times, I bang the floor really hard and then stretch my arms out wide, almost like wrestlers do when they enter.

“I do it in my dressing room when no-one is looking. It makes you feel confident before going on.”

Kevin fears if he doesn’t do the warmup his routines will be a disaster.

He added: “I panic if I don’t do it. If I don’t do it, I go on stage in the wrong mindset. I know it’s nuts. As a person in general I’m quite introverted.

“When I go out on stage I’m more of an extrovert, but I have to get myself into that zone. I can’t go out on stage as boring little Kev because he’s not a great performer.”

Kevin’s warm-up helped him claim victory on last year’s series of Strictly alongside Stacey Dooley.

And the good luck didn’t end there because the pair also fell for each other and became a couple.

He said: “I definitely did it before going on with Stacey. But I did it every other year as well and I didn’t win then!”

Fans will now see Kevin competing for victory again on this year’s Christmas special. He’s partnered with former contestant Debbie McGee. They will be competing with other former contestants including Joe Sugg and Mark Wright. Kevin said of his warm-up: “I’ve been doing it for years, even before I started on Strictly. I do it before theatre shows.”