Splitly come dancing! Love-rift Katya and Neil in battle of the ballroom
STRICTLY Come Dancing returned last night – and it was all about keeping up with the Joneses.
Professional dancers Neil and Katya Jones – who announced their marriage was over last month – both took to the dancefloor in the first stage of their rival quests to win the coveted glitterball.
Neil, who was making his debut as a full-time professional partner after being part of Strictly’s wider troupe since 2016, was first to dance.
He and his celebrity partner, footballer turned pundit Alex Scott, performed a quickstep to the Frank Sinatra classic I Get A Kick Out Of You, receiving 21 points out of 40 from the judges. The gauntlet thrown down, Katya – whose passionate kiss with comedian Seann Walsh rocked last year’s series – performed the jive with BBC Breakfast presenter Mike Bushell.
After their dance to Do You Love Me by The Contours, judge Craig Revel Horwood likened Bushell to an ‘overwound tin toy’, but the pair still received 22 points – one more than Katya’s estranged husband.
Speaking before the contest began, Russian-born Katya was full of praise for Neil, and insisted they remain close. ‘I am so happy that he is finally getting a chance to show off his talent,’ the 30-year-old said. ‘I am just so proud of him. I know he is very qualified for the job and he has got all of the right credentials.
‘Dancing is our life and that is what brought us together and what we are going to share always.’
An audience of around eight million was expected to tune into last night’s BBC One show.
Other celebrities seen dancing with their professional partners for the first time included Olympic rower James Cracknell, TV presenter Anneka Rice and Lady Weymouth.
As it was the first night, no one was eliminated.