STRICTLY winner Kelvin Fletcher has bagged himself a major new role just weeks after splashing out on a £150,000 Bentley.
HOAR Online can reveal the 36-year-old will be paid £100,000 to take on a starring role in the panto Sleeping Beauty in Sheffield later this year.
The former Emmerdale star will join CBBC presenter Sam Nixon in the cast of this year’s Sheffield Lyceum panto.
He will take on the role of the Prince in the panto which is set to run from 4 December to 3 January, 2021.
Kelvin wowed audiences in 2019 during his stint on Strictly which saw him take home the glitterball trophy with dance partner, Oti Mabuse.
The actor is best known for playing Andy Sugden on Emmerdale for 20 years after joining the show when he was just six years old.
Kelvin was only supposed to join the show for three episodes but producers offered him a longer contract as he soon became a viewer favourite.
He won numerous awards for the role including best actor and best dramatic performance gongs at the British Soap Awards.
The actor quit the soap in 2016 so that he could focus on other acting opportunities.
Kelvin’s showstopping performances on Strictly came as a surprise to all, especially considering he was not even supposed to be on the show in the first place.
The dad-of-two was a last-minute replacement for injured Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing, but went on to only drop only two points on the leader board in the final.
His turn on Strictly continue to pays dividends as he heads out to sea with Oti on five-day cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2.
The winning pair will head to New York to teach cruise ship passengers how to dance in two masterclasses and to host a gala dinner aboard the luxury liner.
Kelvin has ruled out any return to Emmerdale saying he left the show to “move on and do other things” during an appearance on Lorraine.
It is likely he will go on a Strictly tour and his time away from Emmerdale will allow him to concentrate on his professional racing career.
The star has competed in the motor racing competition, the British GT championships, but promised he did not leave ITV soap to become a full-time racer.
“I am so grateful to Emmerdale. Throughout that period I have always had a real sense of fulfillment and purpose,” he told This Morning hosts Eammon Holmes and Ruth Langsford during an appearance on the show last month.
He added: “What started out as a hobby at six years old – I was then able to do something like that every day on a professional platform on one of the country’s greatest shows. I have been extremely lucky.
“Looking back over 20 years it has been a rollercoaster and for me it’s give me passion to leave and continue.”
After Strictly ended, Kelvin also promised to spend more time with his family after the dancing competition took all of his time.
“I’ve felt a little bit guilty being away from them so I will take them away and just see them and hold them,” he said after winning the show.
Kelvin married Elizabeth Marsland in 2015 and they have two children, Marnie, three, and Milo, one.
The impressive paycheck for the Sheffield panto is about average for a major soap start, but definitely not the most a star has been paid.
Big name soaps stars can expect to easily make six figures during a panto season, but the bigger the name, the bigger the paycheck.
As far back as 2011, EastEnders star Steve McFadden made £200,000 for playing a panto villain.
TV presenter Colleen Nolan earned upwards of £200,000 for her s The Fairy Godmother in 72 performances of Cinderella in Bradford.
