Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Jones could be one of the dancers facing the axe from the show. Reports are swirling suggesting that she may depart alongside Neil Jones and Gorka Marquez, with Johannes Radebe speculated to leave on his own terms.
Insiders have suggested Johannes has his eyes on a major stage production, which would need a long-term commitment, potentially clashing with the upcoming Strictly series.
A source recently disclosed: “The review of the line-up has always been about making a fresh start, and that was always going to be affected by which dancers performed well this series.
Of the five names in the mix, almost all of them went out in the first half of the last series, which is very much seen as a landmark point for Strictly. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for them, because Strictly bosses feel they need to make some major changes, even if that means big names leaving.
Amidst these rumours, Katya has spoken up about her hopes to return for another season, telling The Mirror exclusively: “Am I hoping to be back? Well this year would be my 10th on Strictly so I am hoping for a round number.”
During the recent series, Katya and her dance partner Wynne Evans found themselves in the spotlight when they made what was called a ‘silly joke’, after viewers commented that Katya seemed uneasy when she moved Wynne’s hand off her waist during a live TV moment, reports the Mirror.
During an appearance on It Takes Two, she clarified: “I just want to get something out of the way that I feel overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason. Quite frankly I can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he is not.
“And in fact it couldn’t be further away from the truth, so I have to make this absolutely clear, that this whole incident with the hand and the high-five on Saturday night, it was an inside joke between Wynne and I. Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes.”
In a separate interview, Wynne expressed his distress: “I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day. It’s not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are really, really close and we’re really good friends, and on Saturday we made a stupid joke.
“It was a stupid joke that went wrong, OK? We thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny. It has been totally misinterpreted.”
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