Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
Here come the gırls!
Before they light up a theatre near you with their new dance extravaganza, Strictly’s Katya, Nadiya and Janette say they’re out to prove it’s not just the boys who can pull in the crowds...
Anything the Strictly boys can do, the Strictly girls can do too. Last year saw the hugely successful Here Come The Boys UK tour featuring Aljaz Skorjanec, Giovanni Pernice and Gorka Marquez. Now it’s the turn of their female fellow pros as Janette Manrara, Nadiya Bychkova and Katya Jones embark on a 29-date roadshow in a brand new song-and-dance spectacular called Viva La Divas.
The show is a collaboration with the original producers of Viva La Diva, in which former Strictly judge Darcey Bussell and Katherine Jenkins paid tribute to their heroines such as Maria Callas, Edith Piaf and Doris Day through opera and ballet on a sell-out 17-date tour in 2007. In the sparkling new production the three Strictly girls will celebrate their favourite divas from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Broadway and West End musical theatre, as well as chart-topping modern pop icons, through dance.
Janette, Nadiya and Katya will perform alongside a female singer and six male dancers, paying homage to the likes of Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Madonna, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and more. ‘You’re going to see us dancing to the music associated with these fabulous women, such as a routine inspired by Audrey Hepburn – my personal style icon – to the music of Moon River from Breakfast At Tiffany’s,’ says Janette, 36. ‘You’ll also learn about each of our personal stories, all told through song and dance.’
She believes the new show will debunk the theory that the Strictly women don’t get on behind the scenes. ‘For a long time I had this ambition to team up with other female dancers. I hate the idea that we’re seen as competitive,’ she says. ‘The women on Strictly are quite a special group, we’re genuine friends who look out for each other. There’s a feeling of sisterhood, something that Darcey recognised.
‘I’m a massive fan of Darcey, she’s always supported any shows that Aljaz and I have done. Now our challenge is to do the same thing as she and Katherine Jenkins did in the original show, but on a dance level. And Darcey is 100 per cent behind it.
‘I think there’s an audience out there for us, and probably a slightly different one from the people who come and see the Strictly tour. Teenage girls want to see us performing, and that excites me.’
Katya agrees, and says she sees it as a way for young women to connect with the three stars on stage. ‘We want them to see that any one of them could be like any one of us, that it’s possible to achieve your dream.’
‘The boys on the show are so popular,’ adds Nadiya. ‘But now we’re ready to demonstrate what we can do, that we can be just as strong.’
It took a while for the idea to get off the ground, though, until one night the three of them went out to dinner together. ‘And the more we talked about showing the world what the female pro dancers are capable of, the more we realised we didn’t need to look any further,’ says Katya. ‘Why didn’t the three of us put together a show and tour it?’
The appetite for all things Strictly seems bottomless, but do they ever worry they’re in danger of killing the goose that laid the golden egg? Unsurprisingly, Janette thinks not. ‘The beauty of Strictly is that it’s so big, so popular,’ she says. ‘There’s an audience for every single one of us. I’ve done four tours in the last six years. We went to Dublin with the latest Strictly tour, the first time it’s been there for eight years, and I have never in my life heard the roar that greeted us when we walked out on stage. The appetite is still there all right.’
Two things quickly become clear when you meet these three women together. There is clearly genuine affection and respect for each other, yet individually they could scarcely be more dissimilar. Miami-born Janette, whose family came from Cuba, is tiny, but with enough natural energy to power the National Grid, so it’s perhaps unsurprising she’s known as the Pocket Rocket. She’s married t fellow profe sional Aljaz with whom she joined Strictly in 2013.
The statuesque and blonde Nadiya Bychkov is Ukrainian by birth but moved to Slovenia when she was 14 with her mother because the dance facilities were so much better there. She was at the same school in Ljubljana as Aljaz. ‘We trained together and travelled to the same competitions, but we never competed against each other,’ she recalls. ‘We were really good friends. So it was nice when I joined Strictly in 2017 and he was there. He made me feel very welcome.
‘It also meant there was someone I could talk to in Slovenian, although I was also able to chat to Katya in Russian. What I need to do now is learn Spanish so I can talk to Janette without other people knowing what we’re on about!’ Since joining Strictly
Nadiya’s been based mostly in the UK, although she goes back to Slovenia as often as possible. She’s the only mother among the Strictly females and her daughter Mila, by her partner, professional footballer Matija Skarabot, will be four in June. Her mother Larisa is often on hand in both countries to help look after Mila while Nadiya is working.
She finished sixth with her firs stenders actor Davood as voted off in the s iminations the follo ee Ryan from the boyb last year she was paired England goalkeeper Dav who as well as not being with natural rhythm is very tall. tall and I was wearing heels, t even so my arms and shoulders would ache whenever we room dance,’ she laughs. ‘ very willing student, thoug
After she joined the sho was made of the fact that she naked for Playboy magazine i but Nadiya is unrepentant. ‘Th
hotographer asked me agai again if I’d do it and I always sai o,’ she explains. ‘My sole ambition was
to beco ance champion. When I enough to have achieve ally said yes, and I’m prou ctures he took. We searche r the best locations and I thi beautiful.’
Katy , nee Sokolova, was born a d in Russia but moved to thi country in 2008 to pursue her love of competitive dance. She work eil Jon aller Al s , and w et ogethpartn s born. were fo British t Ballro pions, mes World pions. An yet outside t f dance, no one knew who we were,’ she says. They married in 2016 they both j tly, Katya partnered wi and Neil as part of the e n her second year she w with Joe Mcfadden, cit kiss with her part alsh in
2018 saw he l over the papers. Sh ei rmally parted last August and tya now lives
alone in Hampshire, although they still dance together.
‘We know each other inside out,’ she says. ‘It could have been awkward but we came to the realisation that we were better off as friends. Would we have got to the point of parting anyway? Who knows? But I think we were drifting apart romantically speaking, so perhaps yes.’
Looking back now, how does she feel about being front pag news for all the wrong reasons? ‘It was unnecessary. It was overwhelming. But you know what? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ So no regrets? ‘Whatever happened, happened. I don’t have to justify myself. It’s my life, my business. It made me realise who I am, what I’m made of.’
What about the internet trolls who attacked her at the time? ‘What about them?’ she says. ‘My partner last year Mike Bushell got trolls telling him he was a dead man if he didn’t leave Strictly. They’re cowards who hide behind their anonymity. But I challenged each and every one of them if I could. You can either become the victim of a situation or you can grow from it. And I grew.’
Is she still in touch with him? ‘With Seann?’ She snorts with laughter. ‘No, I’m no longer in touch
with Seann.’ And there’s no man in her life right now? ‘Neil and I had such a long relationship that it’s quite hard to move on that quickly.’ Janette chips in. ‘Everything in life happens for a reason, although that reason isn’t always clear at the time. But being one of Katya’s best friends, I think I can say I’ve never seen her in a better place emotionally. And she’s dancing better than ever.’ Katya smiles sweetly and goes off to powder her nose. Nadiya’s already left us to get home to see Mila. So, hand on heart, is Janette absolutely sure that her two fellow professionals will be greeted with open arms by UK audiences? ‘I did ask myself those questions before I agreed to do the tour,’ she replies. ‘But why is posing for Playboy a bad thing? It shouldn’t be looked down upon. And yes, Katya had a hard time as a result of what she did. But I really admire and respect both of them for holding their heads up high and being resilient. The three of us are united. And now we’re going to have a ball!’ n