BREAKING: Strictly Come Dancing star ‘couldn’t watch’ BBC show after exit
Flavia Cacace admitted she couldn’t bring herself to watch Strictly Come Dancing after her departure (Image: BBC)
The professionals on Strictly Come Dancing have come and gone over the years, but one former star admitted she couldn’t bring herself to watch the show after her exit. Flavia Cacace, 46, became a professional on Strictly in 2006 and was known for her partnership with Vincent Simone. The pair were also in a romantic relationship from 1999 to 2007. Although their relationship ended, they maintained an on-screen partnership throughout their duration on Strictly.
Seven years after her debut, Flavia decided it was time to bid farewell to Strictly. Flavia and Vincent opted to leave together in 2013, wanting to focus on creating their own live stage shows. In an interview with Betway, the ballroom dancer admitted that despite leaving on her own terms, she struggled to watch Strictly after her departure.
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Flavia was a professional on Strictly from 2006 to 2013 (Image: BBC)
She said: “Leaving the show after seven years is really tough. I’d say probably for the next two to three years after I left, I found it very hard to watch.
“I could not bring myself to watch it, even just hearing the theme tune was really hard. But the last few years, I’ve been doing a bit more commentating. I’ve done It Takes Two’s choreography corner and lots of radio bits and pieces.
“I have watched it, and I have actually enjoyed it. You do get hooked once you watch it again and you start having a favourite you want to win. I’m back into it a little bit more now – but I did go through a period where I had to turn away.”
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When asked if she would be open to returning, Flavia confessed: “I would never say no. If I was asked to go on again, that would be very hard to turn down.”
Flavia married Jimi Mistry in 2013 (Image: Getty)
Throughout her time on the show, Flavia was partnered with former EastEnders stars Matt Di Angelo and Phil Daniels, and Coronation Street actors Craig Kelly and Jimi Mistry, among others.
She dated Matt, 39, from 2007 to 2010 before beginning a relationship with Jimi, 53, shortly after they were partnered together on Strictly later that year.
The couple married in 2013 and revealed they had the same band that performed on Strictly play at their wedding.
“We also had the Strictly band playing, so for our first dance, we did a Viennese Waltz into a Salsa,” Jimi told The Huffington Post in 2021. “It went from very classic to something quite raunchy, which was fun.”
The same year, Jimi and Flavia announced they were quitting showbiz and moved to live on a smallholding in Devon.
