Kevin Clifton makes a surprise confession over Strictly anxiety

Kevin Clifton has opened up about still having anxiety before performing on Strictly Come Dancing, despite his years on the show.

The professional dancer, who joined Strictly in 2013, said that he tries to keep his pre-show nerves hidden from his celebrity partners because he needs to be there to support them.

Clifton, 37, told BBC Breakfast: “I’m all over the place with this sort of thing.

“I’m really nervous before any performance – even on Strictly where it’s more my comfort zone, I get nervous before going on.”

When hosts Louise Minchin and Dan Walker revealed their surprise at his admission, Clifton said: “It will be before I go and meet my partner, I’ll maybe take a few minutes in a room on my own because I don’t want them to see that

I’m going through this nervous process.”

Minchin said: “I’d be really worried if I saw that you were nervous.”

Clifton replied: “I go through my own process where I have to do a few certain moves and this whole routine that I go through before going out to perform.”

He said he has to be “like a rock” for his partners on the show, so must keep his own nerves under wraps.

The dancer said that he started talking more openly about mental health issues on his podcast, where he initially intended to talk to performers about their mindset and creative process.

He said: “I found that when I’m talking to people it very quickly takes a turn into anxiety and mental health and the mental process that people go through, because all performers tend to be a bit nuts.”