Stacey Dooley’s furious ex Sam Tucknott confronted ‘full-on pr**k’ Kevin Clifton on FaceTime after learning of secret romance
FURIOUS Sam Tucknott confronted Kevin Clifton over his relationship with Stacey Dooley — and watched the blood drain from the dancer’s face.
Sam accused the stunned Strictly star of being a “rat” and a “snake” in a FaceTime video call after discovering he had been dating his ex.
He recalled: “He went white. I just stuck it on him, ‘You’re an absolute rat, how you conducted yourself. Just a slippery, slimy snake’. He didn’t say a word, he looked petrified, so shocked.”
Sam, 30, blames Kevin for his break-up with his sweetheart Stacey, who he says he was planning to propose to. He claims Kevin, who previously said he has never dated any of his celeb dance partners, has since refused to meet face-to-face.
He also lashed out at the “sleaziness” of BBC1’s Saturday night primetime show Strictly. Sam said: “Stacey has broken my heart, but of course I still love her and I wish her every success.
“My anger is with Kevin. It’s more like Strictly Come Dating — year in, year out. Strictly is meant to be a family show — my little niece watches it — but it’s so sleazy, and I cannot begin to wonder what goes on behind the scenes.
“I have no respect for Kevin whatsoever. He comes out and says it’s all ‘strictly business’. He’s a full-on p***k. I’ve tried to meet him since to get closure but he won’t do it.
“Had it been one of the other dancers she got with, fair enough. But it stings that much more because of what he’s been like and how he’s renowned.
“He’s an absolute complete f***ing rat with no b******s or decency to hear me out. The fact he won’t have a man-to-man conversation with me says everything about the guy.
“He has gone from my best mate, wanting to know the ins and outs of what I am up to, then he can’t even go out of his way to reply. That’s come from guilt.”
While he accepts Stacey’s punishing work schedule did not help matters, the former footballer believes the intensive hours she and Kevin spent together accelerated their romance.
After Strictly finished in December, Stacey joined the Live Tour in the New Year before travelling to Uganda for a controversial appearance on Comic Relief. During the trip, the 32-year-old — who was pictured with a small Ugandan boy — was criticised for acting like a “white saviour”.
She was then sent to the US to film a documentary on gun laws, which meant she and Sam were communicating mainly via text.
The ex-Crystal Palace academy player — who has a matching “J’adore” foot tattoo with Stacey — claims he gave her several chances to formally end their romance.
But he says the split was only confirmed this month.
There is no suggestion Kevin behaved unprofessionally during the series. But he appears to bring his own curse to the show — having previously danced with other celebs whose relationships have ended, including Louise Redknapp and Susanna Reid.
In an interview last month 36-year-old Kevin — who has been married three times — insisted he had never dated his partners.
When asked whether any of his partnerships with celebrities had ever become romantic, he replied, “No, never. You’re there to do a job and get on with the dancing. That’s what it’s about.”
In January he made his stage show debut in Rock Of Ages, playing the part of Stacee Jacs. And he was delighted with the similarity to his Strictly partner’s name.
He recently said: “I feel like I’m switching roles from Strictly, as there I’m in my comfort zone. I’m the professional and Stacey is the celebrity trying to learn to dance whereas now I’m figuratively and literally becoming Stacee!
“Actually, one of my favourite facts is that I obviously just danced with Stacey Dooley on Strictly, and her full name is actually Anastacia Jaclyn Dooley and her nickname is Stacey Jacs, so it seems like it was all meant to be!”
During their five-year relationship, Sam and Stacey regularly posted gushing messages to each other. One of her last tributes was on September 9 when she shared a pic of Sam with their beloved bulldog Bernie. She wrote: “My boys. It’s ST’s 30th next week. True to form, I’ll be at work.
“Love you sweetheart. Forever grateful for your patience.” However reports emerged in December claiming Sam was “insanely jealous” of her dance partnership with Kevin — which Sam denies.
He went white... he didn't speak and looked petrified
In February Stacey hit back at the allegations, saying: “The truth is Kevin and I are brilliant friends and he’ll be my pal for life, and Sam was probably the most supportive he has ever been.
“When I first got the gig he was just so made up. And every week he’d say, ‘Listen to Kevin. Kevin knows best’. He was a dream.”
Sam and Stacey still follow each other on Instagram, although Sam and Kevin no longer do. The pro dancer posted a beaming photo last month of him and Stacey holding the famous Glitterball trophy.
He captioned it: “I know International Women’s Day was yesterday but wanted to say Happy Birthday to one of the most inspirational women I know.” Similarly, photos of Kevin are all over Stacey’s Instagram page.
Since splitting officially earlier this month, Sam has taken custody of Bernie — even though the caramel and cream-coloured pet was a gift from the TV maker. He explained: “After we split, I said that the only time I will be a nightmare is over Bernie. He’s my boy.”
Sam, who is about to launch his own gym — 164 in Brighton — admits he still loves Stacey. Describing the popular television star as his “soulmate”, he says the pair had discussed marriage.
Friends wanted him to pop the question after she won Strictly, he claims. And Stacey herself had teased him about it. He said: “Of course I’d thought about proposing — she was that girl I wanted to spent the rest of my life with. She was my soulmate.
"Stacey wanted a specific ring from a jewellers called Catbird in New York, but not in a flashy way. People were telling me to propose to her at the Strictly final but that’s not really my scene. At family meals, she’d be like, ‘When are you gonna propose to me ST? I’m getting older now!’.”
A record 12.7 million viewers had watched Stacey and Kevin beat social media star Joe Sugg and singer Ashley Roberts to be crowned winners in December.
Our exclusive chat with Sam comes just days after Darcey Bussell quit Strictly. She was embarrassed about the show’s “sleazy” reputation and the “soap opera” romance scandals.
In October the Sun on Sunday printed photos of comedian Seann Walsh drunkenly snogging his married dance partner Katya Jones.
Later that month Aussie pro dancer Dianne Buswell dumped her Emmerdale boyfriend Anthony Quinlan — and was accused of cheating on him with show partner Joe.
15 Strictly love splits
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