Sticky Vicky: Legendary Benidorm dancer dies aged 80

  • Published
A white woman, with short black hair, tilting her head wearing a blue scarf and black fleece. The background is dark with stickers on the brown wall.Image source, Shutterstock
Image caption,

Vicky performed her final show in 2015

An entertainer who built up a cult following in Benidorm has died at the age of 80.

Sticky Vicky had a legendary status among Brits travelling to the Spanish resort on holiday.

Her famous X-rated show ran for more than 30 years and she performed six shows a night for six days of the week at one stage.

The performer's daughter announced she had died early on Friday morning in a post on her official Facebook page.

"I can't believe it, she has gone surrounded by her family, with all our love," she said.

"I thank God for being able to always be by her side, I am left with a broken heart."

Sticky Vicky, whose real name was Victoria María Aragüés Gadea, started performing in Benidorm in the 1980s.

She quickly became one of the resort's best-known entertainers for her X-rated show - which involved her pulling different objects from her vagina, most famously ping pong balls.

It would always end with the lights going down before she produced a lit light bulb.

'Put Benidorm on the map'

Vicky became legendary among British tourists and appeared in the ITV comedy show Benidorm, which often made reference to her.

Fin McGrath, from Nuneaton in Warwickshire described the show as "mind-boggling".

"You can't believe that you're actually watching that in front of your eyes. It's just out of this world," the 23-year-old told BBC Newsbeat.

"When you think about Benidorm, she's the main attraction to go out there."

Nicole Goulding, from Chester-le-Street in Durham, also said she made sure she saw Vicky when she went to the resort.

"I think she's like Mrs Benidorm. She's number one and her memory will not be forgotten," she said.

Vicky performed her final show in 2015 but her daughter María Gadea Aragüés has since taken over and performs under the same name.

There are more than 1,500 comments on her Facebook post, with people paying tribute and one saying her mother "put Benidorm on the map".

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.