Inside Robin Windsor’s business away from infamous Strictly ballroom before death

Robin Windsor died at the age of 44 (Image: BBC)

Robin Windsor was one of the brightest professional dancers on the infamous Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.

But on February 19, the dancer was found dead at the age of 44 following a long battle with depression. His cause of death has not been given.

On Sunday evening (November 3), his life was celebrated at a special event, Robin Windsor: The Final Act, where his loved ones gathered at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane to pay tribute to the late dancer.

The event was hosted by Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley, who formed a close friendship with Robin on Strictly in 2012, and judge Anton Du Beke was on hand to co-host.

He touchingly compared Robin to the show’s infamous trophy and called him a “human Glitterball”, while Gorka Márquez, Joanne Clifton and Vincent Simone also attended.

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The star founded his own company in 2013 (Image: Getty Images)

As fans celebrate what would have been his 45th birthday, Daily Express has taken a deep dive inside his little-known business away from the ballroom.

According to the Daily Mail, the ballroom expert owned a business called Happy Feet Creative Limited which he founded in 2013 – three years after he joined the Strictly cast.

It is understood the entertainer died with just £879 in his company’s business account which had not traded for some time. According to Companies House Records, the star was facing an “active proposal” to be struck off.

The company was owed almost £5,000 the last time it filed accounts, but owed creditors £15,000, meaning it was £8,350 in debt.

The entertainer's company was in huge debt before his death (Image: Instagram)

Details emerged days after Robin was found dead in a London hotel. At the height of his celebrity in 2015 and 2016, he held more than £23,000 in the company and advanced himself £35,000 from the company, which was repaid.

The company had channelled earnings from a “wide variety of contracts to provide performing arts services within the media,” paperwork revealed.

He previously told how he was paid £100,000 a year during his time on the BBC One dance competition, which came to an end after the 12th series in 2014.

He also recalled one time that he earned “silly money”, telling This Is Money: “My dance partner and I were once paid £10,000 each day to stay in a luxury resort in Mauritius for a week and dance the cha-cha-cha at an event. Our dance lasted two minutes.”

He previously revealed he was paid £100,000 a year on Strictly (Image: PA)

Robin remembered in September 2022 that the “best” year of his financial life was in 2010 during “my first year on Strictly Come Dancing.”

He explained: “All of a sudden, I was earning money I had only dreamt about. I probably made about £100,000 that year – not just from Strictly but from work off the back of the show such as the tour and private performances.

“When you’re on prime-time TV, everyone wants a little slice of you.” Speaking about his Strictly exit last year, Robin said he became so “bitter” about not being allowed to return to the show that he refused to watch it.

He confessed: “I got to dance and show 13million people every single week what it was that I love to do. So, once that was taken away from me, I went into quite a steady decline.

He formed a close bond with his former co-star Lisa Riley (Image: PA)

“I was sad. And, I know we all have our dance days, but my dark days turned into dark weeks and I wouldn’t get out of bed. I didn’t really understand why I was feeling like that or how to get out of that state.”

The professional Latin and Ballroom dancer performed on the TV show between 2010 and 2015.

Throughout his time on the show, he was partnered with model Patsy Kensit, EastEnders favourite Anita Dobson, Emmerdale star Lisa Riley and Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden.

The Suffolk-born star also performed with This Morning host Alison Hammond in the 2015 Christmas Special and GMB host Susanna Reid on Strictly for Children in Need in 2011.