Last week, famous dancer and cabaret artist Vicky Leyton – known to most as Sticky Vicky – died of heart failure. The performer, aged 80, shot to fame in the Spanish party town of Benidorm for her illusionist act.

Vicky’s show involved her shooting ping pong balls, machetes, sausages, eggs and more apparently from her nether regions. While it might seem shocking it was even more so when she first performed it in the 1980s.

Since the star’s death, Daily Star has spoken to a number of performers about her impact on Benidorm as a tourist town. Comedian Gary Pwndland claims Vicky’s show was "groundbreaking" and changed "what women’s party tricks could be". Plus, we decided that Sticky Vicky deserves Frank the Stag Man in Benidorm city centre – so we're campaigning to get her one and you can sign up here.

READ MORE: Daily Star campaign to get icon Sticky Vicky a Benidorm plaque – sign petition here

READ MORE: 'Sticky Vicky's vagina show paved the way for extreme Benidorm sex shows like mine'

Local stag do organiser Frank the Stag Man says her show brought fans to Benidorm. He told the Daily Star: "She was such an important part of what has grown Benidorm into what it is. Back in the day, it was just another coastal town and there’s hundreds up and down the coast – what Benidorm needed all those years ago was something for people to talk about, something that people were going to come and want to see."

Now, nostalgia writer Lee Grimsditch shared what it was that made Benidorm so popular with Brits that it's known as "Blackpool in the Sun". Plus, how Sticky Vicky had her hand in the pot as Benidorm soared in popularity with holidaymakers.

He noted that Vicky, born Victoria Aragues Garcia in Tenerife in 1943, she grew up in a family of artists. She was a classically trained ballet dancer who worked across Europe alongside her sister – a contortionist.

She returned to Spain not long after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. Lee explained: "[This] saw the easing of sexual censorship in Spain and increased the demand for more sexually explicit stage shows. As a performer she had adopted the name Vicky Leyton, and a magician friend suggested she incorporate a more risqué element to her routine."

Vicky premiered her rather rude show – pulling various items from her genitals – in Barcelona. It was a hit and she performed abroad and in cities across Northern Spain.

Lee added: "Following a successful performance at a hotel in Benidorm in the 1980s, she decided to stay in the city, partially due to its influx of holidaymakers from abroad. During this era the exotic performer/magician regularly appeared six times a night for six nights a week, filling out any venue she performed in."

Vicky didn’t consider her show pornographic, instead arguing that it required "delicacy" and "elegance". It certainly pulled in the punters who would flood her venues to see the bizarre show.

Benidorm's reputation for attracting the same type of people at the same time of year was brilliantly realised the award winning TV sitcom 'Benidorm'. Sticky Vicky herself even starred as a supporting character in the 10-season show adding to her reputation and fame in the UK.

Staying in Benidorm, Lee explained that seeing Bicky’s show became a "right of passage" for tourists and Benidorm went on to "gain a reputation for attracting binge-drinking 'lager lout' Brits". While the local council has done its best since the 90s to clean up the areas act it’s still a popular party destination. She was after all "to Benidorm what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris," as journalist Thomas Sutcliffe wrote in the Independent in 2007.

Vicky's final performance in Benidorm was in 2015 when her daughter took the show over full time. Brits who got to see the OG star have shared their thoughts on her cheeky show.

Lynda Pollitt, said: "Sticky Vicky was one of the acts we used to watch in Benidorm. She was a legend and I'm sure she will be sadly missed by many people." While Grumet Benidorm said: "Us lads wanted to go in just to see what it’s about. It was an eye opener that’s for sure! We came out saying, 'How’s she doing that?'"

Darren Bradshaw, said: "Very sad news. What a Benidorm legend Vicky was. Total icon. Sticky Vicky was Benidorm. Today Benidorm just lost some of the sparkle now Vicky is gone." Christina Danielle Bishop, posted: "Gutted. The original classic adult entertainer – no one [else] like our Sticky Vicky, or ever will be".

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