Joanne Clifton was delighted to be offered the part of Hairspray’s former beauty queen Velma, the devil in kitten heels and ruby lipstick, a beautifully constructed narcissist and a racist.

But in the modern climate of socio-political caution, the one-time Strictly dancer felt it prudent to take advice on how to play Velma von Tussle from co-director Brenda Edwards, herself a musical theatre star.

“Brenda said to me ‘Go for it, and own it, because you are showing the audience history.’ And she was right because yes, Velma really is awful, yet I feel it’s an honour to play her, in a sense that I get to educate people in the way things used to be.”

Clifton adds: “It’s fascinating to get across how attitudes once were towards racial integration, although I have to admit that it’s hard at times to say some of her lines.”

Velma’s darkness apart, Hairspray is simply great fun and the musical features some of theatre’s biggest and best hit songs, including You Can’t Stop the Beat and Good Morning Baltimore. It follows the story of Tracy Turnblad and her friends who audition for the local teen dance television show and rally against the studio's discrimination and racial segregation in the 1960s.

 Joanne Clifton in Strictly Joanne Clifton in Strictly (Image: free) Conniving, cunning Velma is obsessed with reliving her own glory days, and in attempting to live vicariously pushes her daughter Amber to follow in her footsteps. And we learn that the pushy mom slept her way to the top.

She sings; ‘Those poor runners-up, might still hold some grudges. They padded their cups, but I screwed the judges.’ Who did Joanne Clifton look to for inspiration to play that side of Velma’s character?

“Oh, gosh!” she exclaims, laughing. “I have no idea.” She recovers a little and adds; “But in terms of playing this woman who is trying to hold onto her image, this ex-dancer still desperate to be beautiful, I guess there are parts of me in her, and my mum and my family. We’ve been in ballroom all of our lives and it’s tough.”

Clifton has taken a circuitous, and certainly tough route, to landing leading roles in musical theatre. As part of a ballroom dance family, (her brother Kevin is a former Strictly star), the then16-year-old Joanne moved from Grimsby to Italy to study at a dance school so tough it was run on military lines. She had to be in the studio at 7.30am and didn’t leave until 11pm at night. And the dancers were only allowed only four days off a year.

But Clifton survived the dance battalion and thrived as a performer, becoming a world and European Champion ballroom dancer, going on to land a three-year stint on Strictly, where she had “a wonderful time.”

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Her career since has been a testimony to hard work. The move onto Strictly allowed the dancer time to train as an actress. It was while working in pub theatre in Norma Jean: The Musical, playing Marilyn Monroe, she was spotted by the producers of Thoroughly Modern Millie and cast in the lead.

She appeared in Flashdance and convinced entirely as Alex, the sexy lead who can weld metal and melt hearts.

“Yes, even though I was seen as the Relatable Girl in Strictly, certainly not the sexy one,” she recalls, grinning. “But from Flashdance onwards, everything changed for me. I got Rocky Horror.” Clifton laughs. “I moved from wearing long sparkly dresses on Strictly to dancing in (jeans) Flashdance and then suddenly I’m wearing a bra and knickers on stage in Rocky Horror. And from there I got the quirky roles, I got the Addams Family, (Morticia) and then played an ogre (Princess Fiona) in Shrek.”

What of the future? “I love the excitement of not knowing just what I may be doing next,” she says, smiling. “The only minus (in role playing) was having to wear the green make up in Shrek every night.”

Clifton adds, smiling. “If I never see the colour green again, I’ll be happy. But now I’m Velma glamourous every night. And I get to wear only human make-up.”

Hairspray, Edinburgh Playhouse, October 7-12, His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen January 21-25 and the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, January 27 – February 1, 2025.

Don’t Miss:

No Love Songs, one of the theatre success stories of the decade, co-written by Johnny McKnight and Laura Wilde. It’s the (mostly) autobiographical story of Wilde and husband Kyle Falconer and asks what happens when you fall in in love with a rock star – and become an isolated mum. Expect lots of laughs perfectly scattered amongst the bleakness. The Tron Theatre, October 24-26.