‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Alum Robin Windsor Dead at 44

Robin Windsor, who competed as a professional dancer on the BBC One competition Strictly Come Dancing for four seasons, has died. Burn the Floor, the dance company Windsor helped found, confirmed in a statement shared to social media Monday night that the dancer “tragically passed away” at the age of 44. Windsor’s cause of death was not disclosed.

“The Burn the Floor family has lost one of its founding members, Robin ‘Bobby’ Windsor – who has tragically passed away,” the statement read. “A BTF journeyman he danced with us for twenty years – including Broadway, The West End and all our crazy adventures around the world. His stunning image attached with Jessica Raffa defined our company, colourful, extreme and sensual. His talent, attitude, energy and personality helped create the Burn the Floor stage reputation. He leaves a void in our hearts that will never be filled, yet our wonderful memories will stay forever.”

Born in Suffolk, per his official website, Windsor began dancing when he was just 3 years old when his parents enrolled him in classes in Ipswich. After moving to London to pursue a dancing career at 15, Windsor went on to represent England in numerous championships, both on the domestic and international levels. After joining the cast of the show Burn the Floor in 2001, touring the world for 10 years, with a nine-month run on Broadway, Windsor brought his talents to the screen when he made his Strictly Come Dancing debut in 2010. On the series, Windsor was paired with Eighth Wonder frontwoman Patsy Kensit, though the pair was eliminated in Week 9. He went on to star in three more seasons of the competition – paired with EastEnders vet Anita Dobson (eliminated in Week 9), Emmerdale star Lisa Riley (eliminated in Week 11) and Dragon’s Den investor Deborah Meaden (eliminated in Week 5) – through 2014, when he was forced to withdraw from the competition due to ongoing back problems.

Amid his passing, many Strictly stars have paid tribute to Windsor. On Instagram, Strictly co-host Claudia Winkleman said it was “heartbreaking,” professional Karen Hauer saying she was “heartbroken” as she remembered Windsor as a “beautiful human being.” Head judge Shirley Ballas wrote, “I’m very saddened to hear the devastating news about this beautiful human being this morning,” calling Windsor “kind, gracious, gentle and extremely hard working. A wonderful dancer, true gentleman, good soul and so very young.” Sharing the “incredibly sad shocking news” of Windsor’s passing, former judge Bruno Tonioli said, “It was a pleasure working with Robin for many years [Strictly Come Dancing] so professional easy going a really good person much to young to go RIP my dear friend Keep Dancing in heaven.”

Outside of Strictly Come Dancing, Windsor also appeared on Dancing with the Stars Australia and So You Think You Can Dance in the Netherlands. He also assisted in the choreography for the Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance. He most recently appeared in Come What May, a Moulin Rouge tribute show.