Benidorm loses a legend: How Sticky Vicky became beloved by Brits after turning her ballet skills into X-rated ‘sexy magic’ show with ping pong balls, was watched by six million people – and faced court battle with rival Sticky Barbara

Once hailed as an ‘institution’ by British tourists in Benidorm, the death of 80-year-old entertainment icon Victoria María Aragüés Gadea – better known as ‘Sticky Vicky’ – leaves a hole in the identity of the popular Spanish travel hotspot.

“I am left heartbroken,” her daughter wrote on Facebook this morning, confirming that her mother had passed away earlier today. Reports indicated her battle with “a long-term illness,” although her cause of death has not been officially announced.

Remembered for her so-called ‘vaginal magic show’ performed over an illustrious career spanning 39 years, Grandmother Vicky became a cult hero after moving to the seaside city in 1980 and innovating a creative new act at the height of post-Franco sexual liberation.

At the height of her success, the trained ballet dancer was even moved to take on rival entertainer ‘Sticky Barbara’ in the Spanish courts as she fought for legal recognition of her world-famous nickname.

She was once described as a ‘must-see’ by a guide to Benidorm, claiming that leaving without experiencing her show would be like buying fish without chips or turning on the TV to see Ant without Dec.

The mother-of-two finally retired in 2016, aged 72, after stunning millions with her X-rated tricks that made creative use of household objects including ping-pong balls, razor blades and beer bottles.

Victoria was born in Tenerife on April 15, 1943 and grew up in the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands during the early years of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. She moved to Barcelona with her mother after her father left the family and started her career as a dancer from an early age.

At the time of her retirement, Vicky Leyton – as she later became known – claimed she had been working since she was 11 and had trained as a classical ballet dancer for 15 years before finding her way on the world stage.

In the Catalan capital, Vicky found success as a contortionist and dancer, and in her adult life she managed the daily operations of El Molino – the Windmill -, a theater on Barcelona’s Avinguda del Parallel.

With the death of Franco in 1975 and the relaxation of social norms in major Spanish cities, Vicky responded to the demand for more daring shows, innovating a performance that removed unusual objects from sensitive areas.

Because the Spanish public was captivated by her act, Sticky Vicky moved to Benidorm on the east coast of Spain in the early 1980s. Since the explosion of package holidays in the 1960s, the British had filled the Spanish bars in search of sun, sea, sand and entertainment at an affordable price.

Vicky’s groundbreaking act was well received by the British as she explored more creative takes on her original performance. “To do what I do requires a lot of delicacy,” she explained in a 2016 post interview with El Español.

“It is important to be delicate so that it does not hurt the audience to see it, especially women. You can’t do it in an ordinary way. You have to give it a touch of elegance.’

Over the course of her career, she experimented with her performance, using things like light bulbs and razor blades to wow audiences.

“These are things that have cost me a lot,” she said in 2016. “Over the years I have cut my lips several times and had to go to the hospital twice because a bottle broke there. The doctor asked me and I didn’t know what to say. I was humiliated!’

For almost forty years, Sticky Vicky held its own and entertained millions of tourists with an X-rated show. That was the case in 2007 estimated As many as six million people saw her performance – a figure greater than the residents of Tenerife, Barcelona, ​​Benidorm and the capital Madrid combined.

Two years later, Vicky’s success found her in court, challenging rival ‘Sticky Barbara’ after discovering she had registered the name Sticky Vicky as her own.

Judges sided with the real Sticky Vicky in 2009 after ruling that Spaniard Maria Rosa Pereira had acted ‘in bad faith’ and told Vicky Leyton she was the legal owner of the trademark.

The same year, she appeared as herself as a supporting actress in ITV’s hit sitcom, Benidorm, opening Mel’s Mobility Shop in the first episode.

Vicky gave her last show at the end of 2015 before undergoing hip surgery. Early the next year, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer and formally announced her retirement at the age of 72.

Two years ago, her daughter confirmed that her mother had ‘won her battle against cancer with radiotherapy and chemotherapy’, but had since been diagnosed with dementia.

‘It’s something that came on quite recently and her memory is still good, but it’s clearly something that will get worse.

“I live with my mother and act as her full-time caregiver,” she said at the time.

‘She leads a quiet life and spends a lot of time at home, but hopefully she can get out a bit more once she has had her second hip operation.’

Vicky agreed to transfer the trademark on her stage name to her daughter, who announced that she would “come back with the show” that her mother did.

‘It will be for British tourists in the Little England region where she used to perform and I will be doing the same kind of vaginal magic tricks that my mother was famous for, along with other things to give it a personal touch such as balancing tricks and if the venue is big enough, trapeze stunts and an aerial performance.’

‘I’m going to perform alone. My mother is the legend and we will have to see how the public will appreciate me, but I am a hard worker and a survivor and hopefully I will make her proud,” she said.

In July 2022, Vicky was hospitalized again after hurting her knees getting into a car. She was discharged after a few days in the hospital, but was quickly returned when she developed pain and a possible infection.

Victoria María Aragüés Gadea trained as a dancer and spent a long career entertaining millions of people, redefining the boundaries of what could be considered entertainment in post-dictatorship Spain.

According to The Sun, she reaches a net worth of £3.5 million through her shows.

Looking back on her long career, she once thought: ‘I never thought I could be on stage at my age, and it’s all thanks to the English audience.’