Joanne Kirsty Clifton was born on 24 October 1983 and is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer.
25 Facts About Joanne Clifton
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Joanne Clifton won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancesport Games.
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Joanne Clifton was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series Strictly Come Dancing from 2014 to 2016, winning the fourteenth series with Ore Oduba.
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Joanne Clifton appeared as an expert presenter on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two in 2015 and 2019.
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Since leaving Strictly, Clifton has starred in multiple stage productions such as the UK tours of Shrek the Musical and The Addams Family.
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Joanne Clifton started dancing ballroom and Latin as a child in her home village of Waltham, taught by her parents, former world number ones Keith and Judy Joanne Clifton.
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Joanne Clifton competed nationally and internationally as a child, initially partnering her brother Kevin.
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Joanne Clifton has competed in both ballroom and Latin since the age of 4.
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Joanne Clifton has been a British Champion five times and Italian Champion three times, and was Professional Ballroom European Champion in 2012 and Professional World Dancesport Games Champion in 2013.
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In 2000, Joanne Clifton moved to Bologna, Italy, to train with Team Diablo, the biggest dance school in Europe.
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Joanne Clifton was initially partnered with Marco Cavallaro, reaching sixth in the world in amateur rankings with him.
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Joanne Clifton moved to professional competition when she was chosen to partner Paolo Bosco in 2011.
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Joanne Clifton danced with Bosco competitively until his retirement on 15 December 2013.
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Joanne Clifton retired from competitive dancing on 19 December 2013.
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In 2014, Joanne Clifton was confirmed as a professional dancer on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
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On 6 November 2014, Joanne Clifton appeared on BBC Radio 1's Innuendo Bingo.
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Joanne Clifton remained part of the professional line up for the following series but was not given a partner for the main show.
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Joanne Clifton did compete in the Children in Need special with the actor Stephen McGann and went on to win the Christmas Special with the series 9 winner Harry Judd.
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Joanne Clifton returned full-time to the main show for the fourteenth series and was paired with the TV presenter Ore Oduba.
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In 2015, Joanne Clifton appeared in her first musical production, Face the Music at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, playing Street Walker for which she received an Offie nomination for her role.
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In 2017, Joanne Clifton played the title role of Millie Dillmount in the UK tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie.
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Joanne Clifton played the lead role of Alex Owens in the UK Tour of Flashdance the Musical.
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Between December 2017 and January 2018, Joanne Clifton played the role of Dale Tremont in the musical Top Hat.
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Joanne Clifton starred as Velma von Tussle in the UK tour of Hairspray.
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Joanne Clifton has been in a relationship with fellow stage actor, AJ Jenks, since 2020.