Strictly Come Dancing pro Kevin Clifton explains why he quit

Strictly Come Dancing's Kevin Clifton has spoken out about the reason he decided to leave the reality series after seven years.

Kevin, who won the show with now-girlfriend Stacey Dooley in 2018, announced his departure from Strictly earlier this month, and admitted on the latest instalment of The Kevin Clifton Podcast that his age was a deciding factor.

"I've achieved everything I wanted to achieve on the show now, in terms of winning all the trophies, but also in terms of having such an array of different celebrities," he explained. "I'm always looking for new challenges. I'm always looking to learn and grow all the time.

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"If I was 23, it would be different. I'd be looking at Strictly as, 'I can stay on this for the next 10/15 years'. At 37, I'm thinking, 'I'm going to turn 38 in the next series. If it's going to be a similar season to something I've already done in some way...

"'I don't see myself doing this into my 40s. I'm going to have to leave at some point, so there has to come a point where I say, now's the time.'"

Kevin also teased what he has coming up next, including his Strictly Ballroom: The Musical tour, and an exciting new TV project that sounds like a very different prospect to the BBC ballroom.

"There's a TV drama that I'm looking to write," he teased. "I've just met a brilliant writer who's going to help me structure it and go forward with that."

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Following his announcement from the show, Strictly bosses paid tribute to Kevin's "exceptional talent as a dancer and choreographer".

In a statement, Strictly said: "Kevin has been such a brilliant part of Strictly for the past seven years. From reaching the final an impressive five times, to lifting the Glitterball with Stacey Dooley in 2018, he has provided the show with some fantastic moments, through his exceptional talent as a dancer and choreographer.

"He will be hugely missed by fans and by his Strictly family. He will always be our Kevin from Grimsby."

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One.