Strictly Come Dancing: How Chris Appleton's Daughter Kitty-Blu Stole the Show
By James H. Sterling
Long before private jets and Met Gala preparation rooms defined his calendar, Chris Appleton was a teenager balancing salon apprentice wages with infant care. He became a father early in life. By age 19, he welcomed his son, Billy Appleton, followed roughly two years later by Kitty-Blu. The children's mother, a woman named Katie, remained an active co-parent and close confidante as Appleton navigated the personal realization of his sexuality in his mid-twenties. Coming out as a gay man while raising two toddlers in the East Midlands required tremendous emotional maturity from everyone involved.
Instead of fracturing the domestic unit, the experience solidified a protective circle. Appleton has consistently credited his children with grounding him through the chaotic ascent from local British salon styling to global celebrity management. While Billy chose a relatively private path focused on creative production, Kitty-Blu gravitated toward the beauty industry herself, training as a makeup artist. Her deep familiarity with backstages made her presence in the BBC audience feel entirely natural, even under the intense lighting of Elstree Studios.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
