Former Strictly pro Joanne Clifton on her whirlwind schedule

The old saying that you should find a job that you love because then you’ll never have to work a day in your life is being put to the test by Joanne Clifton’s incredibly hectic schedule.

The former Strictly professional has carved out a successful career as a musical theatre star since winning the glitterball trophy in 2016.

It’s a job she adores, but just hearing her go through her timetable is tiring, never mind actually doing it.

‘I’m living the dream’

“I went from Shrek on a UK tour to Shrek in London, but at the same time I was rehearsing Hairspray,” she laughed. “I was jumping on and off buses, hopping from one studio to another, rehearsing both Shrek and Hairspray.

“I finished Shrek London on a Saturday and was on stage in Hairspray on the Thursday. I did four months on tour, then we had a five-week break. I finished Hairspray on a Saturday night and was on stage as the Fairy Godmother in panto on Monday. I did four and a half weeks of that, finished on New Year’s Eve, and was back in Hairspray the following Monday.

Joanne as Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray.

“It’s been havoc, but I’m grateful. I’m tired, of course I am – I’m in my 40s now and everything becomes a bit more tiring – but it’s so exciting. I’m living the dream.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are moments when I don’t work – I went nine or 10 months without a job before I did The Addams Family. It’s a tough industry to be in, but it takes a certain type of person who thrives off that.

“When you’ve gone a certain amount of time without a job, the moment you get a ‘yes’ is the best feeling ever. I think it’s that uncertainty which performers thrive on. I’ve asked my agent to give me some time off when I finish Hairspray in April, though. I realised I’ve not had a full week off since May.”

Hairspray

Joanne’s role in Hairspray is a first for her – she’s playing the villain. Based on the cult John Waters film from 1988, the musical is set in Baltimore in 1962 and follows a teenage girl who dreams of dancing on a local TV dance show and ends up campaigning against racial segregation.

Joanne plays Velma Von Tussle, the racist producer of the show who opposes the integration of plus-size dancers and people of colour to the programme.

“I like to describe Velma as deliciously evil,” 41-year-old Joanne said. “She’s glamorous but she’s a racist and her views of beauty are horrendous. Some of the lines I have to say are uncomfortable. There’s a part in act two where I adlib as Velma to try to get the black kids off the stage as she doesn’t want them on there. It’s tough, but I’m owning it.

“During rehearsals, I had discussions with the directors and they said I had to own my lines, because my role is important in educating the audiences about how bad it used to be in the ’60s, and how it’s still relevant today, and about views on body types. I’m honoured to play the role, because it’s important.”

Dance is in the family

Joanne believes her work ethic is in her bones. Her parents, Keith and Judy Clifton, were once world No. 1 dancers, and she and brother Kevin – also a former Strictly professional – danced from a young age. Joanne started competing when she was four years old. When she was 16, she moved to Italy to train with Team Diablo, the biggest dance school in Europe.

She retired from competitive dancing at the end of 2013, started on Strictly the following year, and won it with Ore Oduba in 2016.

“With my family being dancers, that’s what I grew up in and we had the performer mentality built into us,” she said. “I travelled around and I was in competitions every weekend, so I was all over the country or sometimes in different countries. Even when I was little, I was going to Slovenia or Russia for a world championship, so I’m used to travelling. I was at a very strict dance school in Italy and I moved away from home for 14 years, so I’m used to being away and I can manage on my own and have the confidence to travel.”

Strictly

To add to Joanne’s packed schedule in recent months, she was also a guest contributor on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two. Joanne describes the latest series, which was won by blind comedian Chris McCausland and professional dancer Dianne Buswell, as perhaps the best in the show’s history.

“It was definitely the best final. I found it so exciting,” she said. “Any one of the couples could have been winners and it would have been fine, but what Chris and Dianne achieved has changed everyone’s perceptions.

“I’ve always felt everyone can dance, but I admit when I heard he was completely blind then I thought he’d be out in the first few weeks.

“There’s a TikTok trend at the moment where a box has been taped off on the floor, and you have to march on the spot while blindfolded and try to stay in the box. Everyone moves out of it because they can’t see, so I questioned how Chris would be able to do full-on routines.

“I also questioned how Dianne would be able to teach him when he had no visual reference of what it was supposed to look like. I didn’t think it would work, yet every week they came out and produced. It blew my mind.

“I think Dianne deserves proper recognition for what she’s done. The two of them have changed everything – not just in the ballroom world but in general, because everyone thinks everything is possible now.”

Whirlwind career

Having been on the road with multiple productions over the past decade, Joanne knows the best places to stay, eat and have fun with the cast when they have time off.

“Going through the tour dates and arranging to stay in digs I like and knowing the places to go to eat helps,” she continued. “I know the activities to do as well.

“In York, for example, I had been there with Shrek and did a ghost tour with the cast. So I organised it again for the Hairspray cast when we visited the city.

“When I did Shrek in London, I wondered what it would be like working in the West End, and people told me it wasn’t as sociable.

“Because you’re closer to home, you finish the show and catch a train, whereas on tour, you’re with the cast and company living out of suitcases and you all become much closer.”

Having already performed in Edinburgh on this current Hairspray tour, Joanne and the cast are heading north again, performing in Aberdeen this week and Glasgow next week.

“The Scottish audiences are all crazy, in the best possible way – so loud,” she smiled. “I would say all the Scottish venues, as well as Newcastle and Liverpool, are always the loudest audiences. I’m always excited to come up.”

‘Leg injury didn’t stop me dancing’

Joanne regards the King’s in Glasgow as one of her favourite theatres, despite a painful injury she suffered on its stage in the first week of a tour.

“We opened Flashdance there in 2017 and I popped my calf muscle mid-show,” she recalled. “I carried on for the rest of the week, but I wasn’t supposed to.

“The physio said I had to take two weeks off, but I told him I wasn’t going to tell the producers what he’d said, so I strapped my leg up and danced on it. That was wrong, because I could have done more damage, but it turned out OK.

“Dancing was actually the easy part, because I was able to dance on my toes for every routine. I couldn’t put my heel down, so the difficulty was trying to make walking look normal in the acting scenes. I had a massive limp.

“I used a tens machine, which you can buy from the pharmacy and which gives little electric shocks through patches to try to heal it quicker.

“I love the King’s – the people at stage door are lovely and welcoming, and it’s always a great atmosphere. The King’s, along with Sheffield Lyceum and Canterbury Marlowe, are my favourite theatres.”

Hairspray, His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, Tuesday-Saturday, and King’s Theatre, Glasgow, January 27-February 1