I wouldn't mind if it were true. Anton "loved on here"??? Since when???!


If you thought that was bad, imagine his twice-as-annoying sister with Will this year as the majority seem to favour. That will be nauseating at its best.

I don't mind Kevin myself. as some have said above, it is overexposure (starting with the 'KFG' thing) and getting to 3 out of 3 finals which has left a sour taste. The best the producers can do for him this series is give him the nearest thing to a duffer, resulting in a slightly quieter season.

For me, he is the least annoying Clifton, with his sister, great ballroom dancer that she is, takes all the plaudits on the 'Annoying Scale', followed closely by his missus.

This is the main reason. The show seems determined to big him up over the other pros and I think it grates on everyone. It's that we are almost told we should absolutely adore Kevin, without being able to make up our own minds about it.

It is clear his partnership with Kellie proved very unpopular last year (I didn't mind it myself as some great routines came out of it - the Charleston & their VW spring to mind). Just wondering who would everyone have preferred him to partner?

I found the VW awful - it was everything I dislike most about Kevin's routines (just my personal taste)

I think it would have worked better if he'd been with Kirstie and Kellie had been with Brendan.

I don't think Kevin actually does anything to deserve dislike.

He is a very capable dancer and teacher. I think his choreography is a bit marmite.
My favourite dance of his with Kelly last year was their Samba - which I find very entertaining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aseZU0lweE
Kudos to Kelly too - to make that dance work, she had to have the courage to sell it full-on.

I think Kevin showed more chemistry in that dance and that is something which I think would help him come across better. He does seem a bit nerdy and a bit over the top at times.
He does get along very well with his celebs and is a great teacher. I think he just needs to generate more chemistry and be a bit more stylish.

He's done nothing wrong, he's been to three finals in a row, apart from Frankie I don't think anyone would pick Susanna or Kellie as getting to the final.

His Samba choreography to that music was so clever, not many of the pros could pull that off. Fair play to Kellie too, I remember her saying on ITT she hoped she could get away with it as her son was nursery age and not old enough to be embarrassed in front of his mates Though I found Kevin and Kellie a bit much together early on I really warmed to them as a partnership by the end of the series.

He's a brilliant teacher, choreographer and dancer even if I find his style a little frantic at times. Looking at this year's lineup I see him taking any of the ladies a good distance in the competition.

And Kevin has inspired one of the best posts ever on Digitalspy.

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1910528

That is just brilliant

Off to watch their Paso again with that post in mind

For me, Kevin's dancing is too frantic. Speed can be impressive but he seems to sacrifice style for speed. In some of the pro dances the other male pros seem better as they keep their poise. Unfortunately Kevin makes his celeb partners perform at the gallop as well so although his routines may be well choreographed and technically sound they sometimes show less art in the dancing. Just my uninformed opinion. I don't hate him and he's still a good pro to have on the show.

All the pros seem encouraged to have a larger than life personality so it's not surprising that some of those grate with the viewers.

That Paso post is superb.

Kevin is
1. ubiquitous
2. successful
which make him a victim of tall poppy syndrome.

Add to that the producers' decision to heavily promote the From Grimsby angle, (look! He's eating fish n chips), sister Jo being on the show and being at the centre of at least two Love routines with Karen last series and people are starting to get a bit begrudgery/Kevined out.

I loved his tango with Frankie but blimey, he gurned throughout.
I loved his paso with Susannah.
I loved his AS with Kellie. Knocked it out the park.
I didn't even mind his semi-twerking in Frankie's salsa (OR him twerking on Big Fat Quiz Of Whatever)
But I can see how he would start to get on your wick if you just want a gimmick-free routine, which I am sure he is capable of choreographing.

fwiw I hope he does get Lesley and I hope he bloody storms it with her week in week out. If he does, I might even vote for him.

Maybe you're referring to Brendan asshat Cole.. as he fits your description perfectly. #puke

Kevin is anything but ''an arrogant cock''..he's very respectful to his partners & comes across as really nice & humble in his interviews.. & has a cute guy next door kinda personality..

Slinging childish insults back and forth doesn't contribute anything to the discussion.

Well said, but happens a lot on here.

I strongly dislike the word "hate". It is an awful word, and how can you "hate" a dancer that you don't even know? Everyone has opinions, likes and dislikes, and I can see how you may dislike someones dance style, their personality or prefer other dancers, but hate?.
Kevins style may be OTT for some, but its what he was born,bred and trained to do, to perform, from a young age. Judging from his incredible results since he has been on the show, its obviously something he does very well.

I just wish that someone - although 3 series in, perhaps he should have picked it up for himself - would point out that the audience is the camera which picks up the sublities. It's not like dancing on stage in a theatre or even a competition? where things have to be exaggerated to be seen. Even just dialling it back a notch or two would help the nuances.

Also, I don't mind the FromGrimsby (my nickname is Aggs-not-from-Grimsby-although-geographically-quite-close. Might need work) although I would like it if the BBC when pushing the FromGrimsbyness would actually use Grimsby and not Cleethorpes.

I like Kevin - he's a good teacher, seems to get on really well with his celebrities and can choreograph well.

Think he sometimes goes over the top a bit - sometimes it works, sometimes not - but for most of his dance career he's performed on a 'bigger' stage. As aggs says, he could do with being a bit 'quieter' in the TV dances occasionally.

Saw Frankie and Kevin on the Strictly Tour this year as they performed well on the 'big' stage - it works for Kevin. My favourites are Jay and Aliona and their 'quieter' dancing was super on the big stage on the Tour - so it doesn't have to be over the top to work.

Think this year Kevin would have been better with Anita - he could have sorted out her technique. Then Gleb and Kellie could have 'performed' as much as they liked. Think it would have worked if the partnerships had been the other way round.

The 'from Grimsby' tag came from Bruce. It can be a bit irritating but it marks Kevin out for the casual viewer - which is most of the audience - and gives him 'the boy next door' appeal.

My only gripe is TPTB promoted him a bit too much this year, and I don't think some of the judges should have made their preference so obvious in the Final.

The Clifton who hasn't been given much promotion as a dancer is Jo - she's a World Champion ballroom dancer and they've barely made use of these skills in the Pro dances.

The VW was perfectly tailored to Kellie's personality in my opinion, plus there was the added link of it being 'pub themed' due to her being EE landlady!!
Must say I prefer a more traditional VW personally but this one was cleverly tailored for Kellie!!
I have no problems with Kevin personally & I actually love Jo & her infectious enthusiasm but i appreciate neither is to everyone's taste!!
I do think the Clifton hating goes way over the top on here sometimes though!! Doesn't seem to extend as far as the public in general thankfully, as Kevin has reached three finals in a row,while Jo managed to survive 6 weeks with one of the least naturally gifted celeb partners ever to appear on the show!!

It's not just Kevin, it's the entire Clifton family who get a ridiculous ammount of abuse on here. Ok so Karen might not be everyones cup of tea, but all of her celebrities have loved her and she seems to throw herself into each partnership with so much enthusiasm, regardless of the celebs ability. She will probably always get duffers, but that's because she's so good with them and doesn't have a permeant cats bum face when she gets paired with someone with two left feet (no names mentioned).

Joanne is amazing, and I'm really, really hoping for a contender for her this series.

I agree!

I love the beautiful understated VWs but I also loved Kellie and Kevin's. That was a time for exaggerated facial expressions and big acting and the comedy suited their style perfectly. It was brilliant.

I agree with Aggs. If he just dialled it down one notch or two he'd come across less grating during dances.

I also thought he and Frankie looked fab on the tour. (I went twice) They were my second favourites after Jay and Aliona. His style is def suited more to a live audience than a TV camera.

I think he comes across as a genuinely lovely guy, especially on ITT. I think most people's issue isn't actually with Kevin or the other Clifton's it's more the BBC over promotion of them. They'd do Kevin a massive favour if they gave him a less obvious contender or non BBC Star this year because it does seem to me- an average viewer- that they just desperately want him to win a series.

I don't "hate" Kevin - but I don't actually like him much....

As has been said - he's a great (if rather frantic at times) dancer, good teacher and a fabulous choreographer - in that he's great at disguising his celebs shortcomings.......

Regarding "that Paso" with Susanna - I seem to be the only one who thought it wasn't that good...... Susannah did very little other than stomp around wafting her skirts whilst Kvin danced his little heart out, ensuring all the focus was on him.

I also agree that he is overhyped by the production team on both the main show and ITT - do we really need him prattling about with Zoe when she does the this week's music thing with the jukebox? Or always being encouraged to show off?

Hopefully this year he will have a less able partner and will go out early, but please producers..... Don't keep ramming him down our throats - it really doesn't do his popularity any favours. Give him a break from extra ITT sessions as well and let him rehabilitate himself with the public.

He is an asset to the show - and proves that British dancers are as good as any out there - and I don't find Jo as annoying as some on do. She did have that silly little girl voice on her first series, but for me she redeemed herself with choreography corner last year - she was far far better than Karen Hardy. Given the fact that she was lumbered with Scott in her first year, and didn't have any partner last year, she deserves a contender to show what she can really do.....

Lilia made the final four in her first three series in a row, and you'd better believe the Bennetts were promoted and pushed way more than the other pros were, but I don't remember anywhere near this level of animus towards them.

Hate is a VERY strong word. I don't think that he's " hated " but he draws so much criticism; not all of it unwarranted . I personally don't mind him but he does grinds my ears sometimes . Criticized a lot ? Yes. Hated ? NO.

"KEVIN FROM MOTHER****ING GRIMBSY"

*flailing with laughter*

I just find it funny that people complain, "Oh, why can't we have more British homegrown talent, all those Russians with their sour faces, etc, etc, etc", and then when given two of the best British pros in the form of Kevin and Joanne the abuse starts. It really baffles me. I think he gets way too much abuse round these parts here.

Although his partnership with Kellie last year resembled a pair of three year old kids who overdosed on Haribo at the end of a birthday party, I like him. Yes, he can be a bit OTT sometimes, but then it' be boring to have a cast of 17 pros or so with the same personality.