Entertainment

Charles Venn: Strictly Come Dancing training has put a glint in my wife’s eye

The Casualty actor is paired with professional dancer Karen Clifton.
The Casualty actor is paired with professional dancer Karen Clifton. The Casualty actor is paired with professional dancer Karen Clifton.

Charles Venn has said that training for Strictly Come Dancing has spiced up his marriage.

The Casualty actor, 45, revealed that his improved physique from weeks of training had left his wife with a “glint in her eye”.

Venn, who is paired with professional dancer Karen Clifton, said his wife Zoe had taken some “salsa notes” and had become “more in touch with her hips”.

Charles Venn with his dance partner Karen Clifton
Charles Venn with his dance partner Karen Clifton Charles Venn with his dance partner Karen Clifton (BBC/PA)

He also revealed that his wife and Clifton, 36, got on “really well”, describing their relationship as “a beautiful thing”.

Venn and Clifton performed a street style routine to James Brown’s track Get Up Offa That Thing on Saturday night’s show, a Strictly Come Dancing first.

He said: “I have never worked this intensely ever in my life. We are dedicating six or seven hours a day virtually, four days a week, to get these routines down as perfect as possible.

“My wife is loving every minute of this. My wife is literally at home doing dance routines.

“She’s got this little glint in her eyes. It’s like she’s saying: ‘Hello, okay, looks like we are going to have to keep you doing Strictly all year round.’

“She’s becoming more in touch with her hips now. She’s taking some salsa notes. There’s this special glint in her eye that I’ve not seen before.”

Last week the pair scored 25 points cumulatively out of a possible 40, placing them in the bottom four couples and putting them at risk of exiting the show.

After a public vote the pair were forced into a dance off with television presenter Katie Piper and Gorka Marquez, which Venn and Clifton won.

Asked how it felt being so close to leaving, Venn replied: “Once that red light descends upon you it is naturally a crestfallen feeling. It’s safe to say it does knock the stuffing out of you.

“As professionals, as contenders, we take it on the chin. You kind of regroup and recuperate.

“You have to focus on that next dance and make it better. You have to try and find an extra gear and deliver the best performance possible.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.