A glittering lineup of Strictly Come Dancing Professionals and past contestants took to the Red Carpet at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre.

The stars of the iconic BBC series were there to watch and support Strictly champion Joanne Clifton who has swapped her Latin and ballroom background for a spectacular mix of street dance, hip-hop, commercial and jazz in a brilliant production of Flashdance.

Joining them at the glamorous after-show party were Flashdance cast members including former A1 boyband frontman Ben Adams.

The evening also saw Joanne reunited with her Strictly partner Ore Oduba with whom she won Strictly 2016.

Among those attending were:Louise Redknapp, former Strictly contestant and pop star who signed autographs and posed for countless selfies with fans; Kevin Clifton , Strictly Pro and Joanne’s brother;Ashleigh Hunter , Strictly Choreographer; Janette Skorjanec,– Strictly Pro; Chloe Hewitt , Strictly Pro; Neil Jones, Strictly Pro and Katya Jones, Strictly Pro.

Joanne Clifton, who received rave reviews for her starring role as Alex Owens, is no stranger to top accolades for she is also a World and European Champion ballroom dancer, and is one of very few pro dancers to have won both the main Strictly glitter ball with Ore Oduba last year and the Christmas Special in 2015 with Harry Judd.

Joanne made her musical theatre debut in the role of Streetwalker in the UK premiere of the Irving Berlin musical Face The Music, for which she was nominated for an Off West End Award. She followed this up with a turn as Marilyn Monroe in the Norma Jeane Musical and then tread the boards as Millie Dillmount in the No. 1 UK Tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie for which she garnered rave reviews.

Excited about taking on the lead in the UK Tour of Flashdance she said:

“This is just another dream come true! I think everyone in the world whether dancer or non-dancer, as soon as they hear 'What a Feeling', remember that iconic scene at the end of the film and I'm so incredibly lucky that I get to do that every night in a UK tour along with fabulous numbers like "She's a Maniac." I'm over the moon! It's another amazing opportunity in my musical theatre career and I can once again sing and act alongside dancing! "

Flashdance – The Musical runs at the Mayflower until Saturday.

Box Office tel: 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk.