Kevin Clifton and Stacey Dooley are dating after their Strictly Come Dancing win, her ex-boyfriend has claimed.

The reports come weeks after Dooley broke up with long-term partner Sam Tucknott, who supported her throughout the competion.

Mr Tucknott, a personal trainer, claims to have discovered what was going on between the pair when he found text messages on his girlfriend's phone.

The 30-year-old told The Sun: “The blame is with Kevin. He’s an absolute rat.

"I was getting my stuff to leave. Stacey was in the loo.


"I grabbed the phone and confronted her. She said she’d tell me everything I needed to know."

He claims that later that day - after he'd moved out of their shared Brighton flat - Dooley messaged to confess that she had fallen for Clifton.

Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton

But the documentary maker insisted things had not started up with the dance pro until her relationship with Mr Tucknott was over.

Mr Tucknott said he replied back to say he "hated" what his girlfriend of five years had done to him.

He claims to have noticed several "red flags" about her friendship with Clifton as she competed on the BBC dance show.

Mr Tucknott says Clifton would send Dooley gushing text messages but remained "sulky" and "distant" around him.

Then following an explosive Boxing Day row, Tucknott says he discovered a receipt for a cupcake delivery to Glasgow where Clifton was working.

When news of the split was announced in March, the break-up was put down to conflicting schedules.

Dooley, 31, told The Times that her partnership with Grimsby-born Clifton, 36, was purely platonic.

Stacey Dooley beamed with pride after winning Strictly Come Dancing
Stacey Dooley beamed with pride after winning Strictly Come Dancing

"The truth is Kevin and I are brilliant friends and he’ll be my pal for life,” she told The Times Magazine in Feburary.


"He was dancing around our living room. And every week he’d say, ‘Listen to Kevin. Kevin knows best. He was a dream.”

Since the first series in 2004, Strictly has become as much known for its multitude of relationship scandals as its dance routines.

Among the couples that didn't survive the show include Louise and Jamie Redknapp, Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole, and Countdown's Rachel Riley and her husband.

However, there have been some success stories over the years.

Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez announced this year they are expecting a baby together after meeting on the show.

While former dancer Kristina Rihanoff shares a baby with ex rugby star Ben Cohen after they were introduced on the dancefloor.