Pointless: Joanne Clifton reveals she may make Strictly return
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Professional dancer Joanne Clifton became a household name after appearing on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing back in 2014. However, she decided to part ways with the show just three years later after taking home the Glitterball trophy with Ore Oduba.
I wish I was there in the midst of all that and it just made me really emotional.
Joanne Clifton
Despite her decision to walk away from the dancing competition, Joanne, 37, who recently appeared in Eurobeat: The Pride of Europe, has spoken to Express.co.uk about her sudden urge to return to the show.
Grimsby born Joanne was left shattered when the nation was plunged into another lockdown period just days before Christmas 2020, when she was planning on returning to her hometown, Grimsby.
However, she was left in awe as the Strictly Come Dancing cast “came together” to lift the spirits of the nation.
She said: “At Christmas, that announcement happened just before the Strictly final.
“I thought, that’s the first time after all these years I’ve been off that I’ve wanted to be back on it.”
Kevin Clifton’s sister went on: “I was literally crying, I think probably because of the announcement and stuff, and I couldn’t get up to Grimsby to see my parents.
“But also because I saw all my friends, all the pros on Strictly and they just came together and were like, ‘We need to cheer up the nation’.”
The professional ballroom and Latin dance star added: “You could just see it because obviously I know them all really well and you could just see it happening.
“I wish I was there in the midst of all that and it just made me really emotional.”
While Joanne may have wanted to return to the entertainment show while the UK was left in a state of distress, she has since said that there are only two reasons she would return to the show.
“I love Strictly, I’m so grateful that I was on it, but if I’m honest, I do have osteoarthritis in both knees, so I don’t know if I could hold out on it,” she revealed.
Joanne, who is currently transitioning for a career in musical theatre, went on to explain further: “Maybe a Christmas special or Children In Need special, I’m definitely up for going back.
“It’s such a family environment, I know that some people would like to make out that it isn’t, but it really is in terms of the years that I was on anyway.”
The blonde bombshell continued: “I still feel very much involved in it.
“When I go back to It Takes Two, I’m in my element – everybody is just happy, it’s a happy show to work on, so I’m very, very grateful that I was on it.”
Joanne adds that once she “reaches her goal”, her mind automatically decides to focus on her next challenge, which is now a career on the West End.
She also believes that after winning the competition once, she wouldn’t take the crown again.
“I was like, ‘I was not going to win again, the only way is down now that I’ve won it,’ but Oti [Mabuse] proved me wrong, didn’t she!'” exclaimed Joanne.
Since bidding farewell to Strictly, Joanne has gone on to take the leading role of Millie Dillmount in the UK tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2017, following in the footsteps of Amanda Holden and Donna Steele.
During the first lockdown period, Joanne wrapped up writing her own musical alongside A1 singer, Ben Adams, titled Bloody Nora.
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