Benidorm legend Sticky Vicky has died aged 80 ‘surrounded by her family’ after a lengthy health battle, it has been announced.
The exotic dancer, whose real name was Victoria María Aragüés Gadea, passed away early on Wednesday. She had been unwell for some time, according to reports.
‘I regret these words, my mother Sticky Vicky passed away today at 6 in the morning, I can’t believe it,’ her daughter wrote on the official Sticky Vicky Facebook page.
‘She has gone, surrounded by her family, with all of our love. I thank God for being able to always be by her side, I am left with a broken heart.’
Benidorm legend Sticky Vicky has died aged 80, it has been announced
The exotic dancer, whose real name was Victoria María Aragüés Gadea, passed away early on Wednesday. She had been unwell for some time, according to reports
‘I regret these words, my mother Sticky Vicky passed away today at 6 in the morning, I can’t believe it,’ her daughter (left) wrote on the official Sticky Vicky Facebook page
Born in 1943 in Tenerife, the trained ballet dancer – who was also known as Vicky Leyton – went on to become an icon in Spain’s Benidorm thanks to her exotic, x-rated performances of her vaginal magic show.
The mother-of-two moved to the city in south-east Spain in 1980 where she became a legend of the holiday hotspot visited by millions of British tourists.
Her show – which ran for move than three decades – involved pulling a variety of objects from her private parts, including ping pong balls, razor blades, eggs, handkerchiefs and machetes.
It would end with the lights dimming and her producing a lit light bulb.
An estimated six million people saw the show – which she would invariably perform six times in a night, six days a week – since she started it in the mid-1970s.
And she once marked the third series of ITV’s comedy show Benidorm starring Johnny Vegas by officially opening Mel’s Mobility Shop before it caught fire.
She was once described by a guide to Benidorm as such a ‘must-see’ that leaving without experiencing her show would be like buying fish without chips or turning on the TV to see Ant without Dec.
Vicky finally retired in 2016 aged 72 after she was diagnosed with uterine cancer, and her daughter Maria Gadea Aragues has since taken over.
Vicky said she did not characterise herself or her show as pornographic.
‘To do what I do you must have a lot of delicacy. It is necessary to give it a touch of elegance,’ she said at the time.
She also once thanked the ‘English public’ for her success, saying she would never have imagined she would have become a performer. ‘I never thought I could be on a stage at my age, and it is all thanks to the English public,’ she said.
Vicky invented her X-rated show after a magician friend taught her tricks during hard times after the death of former dictator Francisco Franco, which at the same time brought the easing of sexual censorship in Spain.
She boasted of keeping in shape with regular gym workouts and a healthy lifestyle.
Tenerife-born Vicky (pictured in 2011) spent 35 years entertaining millions of tourists with her X-rated routines. The mother-of-two moved Benidorm, in south-east Spain, in 1980 where she became a legend of the holiday hotspot visited by millions of British tourists
The retired dancer – real name Victoria Aragues Gadea – was hospitalised earlier this year after she smashed her knees while getting into a car
Vicky (right) is pictured with her daughter in a social media post. Maria Gadea Aragues continued her mother’s performance in Benidorm
Vicky carried on performing her raunchy magic tricks well past the normal-retirement age after postponing plans to hang up her props so she could fight rival performers she denounced as imposters.
She once went to court against another adult entertainer, traditionally known as Sticky Barbara, after learning she had registered the name Sticky Vicky as her own.
Judges sided with the real Sticky Vicky in 2009.
They said Spaniard Maria Rosa Pereira had acted in ‘bad faith’ and telling Vicky Leyton she was the legal owner of the trademark.
In July, she was hospitalised after hurting her knees when getting into a car.
She was released after a few days in hospital, but was returned quickly when she experienced pain and a possible infection.
Her cause of death has not yet been officially announced.
Vicky’s daughter spoke at length about her mum’s battle against cancer and other health problems two years ago.
Barcelona-born Maria, who was then combining her job as the Benidorm legend’s full-time carer with private lessons focused on gymnastics, strength and stretching for children and athletes including dancers, said at the time: ‘My mum’s won her fight against cancer with radiotherapy and chemotherapy but she’s due to have her second replacement hip operation in just under a fortnight’s time.
‘With the coronavirus pandemic everything’s been delayed. She’s using a walker at the moment and she needs help and can’t be on her own in case she falls.
‘She’s also got early onset dementia. It’s something that’s come on quite recently and her memory is still good but it’s obviously something that’s going to get worse. ‘I’m living with my mum and am acting as her full-time carer.
‘She’s 78 and obviously not as mobile as she was but she’s still looking very beautiful. I don’t think she’s ever had Covid and she’s had her two vaccines.
‘She’s living a peaceful life and spending lots of time at home but hopefully she’ll be able to get out a bit more once she has had her second hip operation.’
The grandmother-of-two was intending to return to the stage after her first hip operation but shelved the plans after discovering she had uterine cancer.
The veteran entertainer confirmed on her Facebook page in February 2016: ‘Just to let everyone know that the Legend Sticky Vicky Leyton and her […] daughter Demaria Leyton have both retired from sexy magic shows.
‘Vicky at the age of nearly 73 has retired to spend more time with her family and her daughter has other projects that have nothing to do with sexy magic shows.’
While the statement in 2016 suggest her daughter was retiring, she since picked it back up and continues to perform to this day.
An estimated six million people saw Vicky’s show since she started it in the mid-1970s. She was originally a ballet dancer
Vicky Leyton, AKA Sticky Vicky, performs a show in her younger days
Sticky Vicky (right) is seen with her daughter, Maria Gadea (left)
With the news of her death, tributes flooded in from Vicky’s fans, many of whom responded to her daughter’s post of Facebook.
‘God bless you and your family your mum put Benidorm on the map,’ one person wrote. ‘When you said Benidorm every one said Sticky Vicky.
‘What a beautiful woman a true entertainer RIP.’
Another person wrote: ‘I was 14 years old when I first heard of your beautiful mum… I finally got to see her numerous times in my 40s and your show too…. Benidorm will be now dark at night….after losing it’s biggest star.. absolute legend… Bless you.’
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
