Katya Jones
The Strictly professional, 32, on The bravest Thing she’s ever done and making clothes for her co-stars
Not a lot of people know this but I’m very good at...
sewing and making things. I love upcycling and repurposing things. The first thing I did was making his and hers jackets for Janette [Manrara] and Aljaž [Škorjanec] for their wedding. They loved them and still wear them now. I also made one for Alex Scott and some of my other Strictly friends. I’m also good at DIY and I build all my furniture myself – I even own a saw!
My best friend is…
a few people because I moved countries. I still have my two best friends from school back home in Russia. That’s the type of friendship that no matter how long you’ve not seen each other, you just know they’re there for you no matter what. In the UK, I have Joanne Clifton and Sasha [Latoya], who are my besties, and then on Strictly I’m probably closest with Janette. We all have a tight girl gang. We have a Whatsapp group without the boys!
My nickname is…
Kit Kat or Crazy Kat!
The best day of my life so far is…
there have been quite a few! My life has been in sections and chapters, so I feel like I’ve had a few memories in each that have been really special. When you’re competing and you win a World Championship or make the final for the first time, those things are so special. Then with Strictly and winning the Glitterball [with actor Joe Mcfadden in 2017], that was amazing. But then the best day of my life could be yet to come! I’m the type of person who loves making every experience the best ever.
The bravest thing I’ve ever done is…
probably doing Gangnam Style on national television with Ed Balls! We didn’t know what the outcome was going to be and it could have gone horrifically bad, but you have to take that risk! It paid off in the end.
My perfect evening is…
a gathering with my girlfriends with cheese, biscuits and a glass of gin and tonic. We’ll watch a movie with face masks on and have a chat.
The best thing my parents taught me is…
hard work and discipline. Being naturally talented is one thing but you’ve got to work hard. My family are so close and I’ve always felt that feeling of safety and like they have my back.
My greatest weakness is…
food. I turned vegetarian in September and I find it really easy and I’m really enjoying it. I haven’t gone vegan yet, I love cheese too much, but we’ll see how I get on! It used to be shopping but I’m not addicted to that any more. I made a pledge to not buy anything and I ended up doing it for 14 months. It was actually really easy and completely changed my mentality about shopping.
My first kiss was…
when
I was a teenager. It was back in Russia with one of the dancers at my dance club. He was my first boyfriend.
‘my family always have my back’