Katya Jones and husband Neil tell how they overcame her clinch with her Strictly partner 

Not many women could fit into their wedding dress six years on, but Katya Jones says that’s one of the perks of being a dancer. 

‘You can eat what you like – as long as you’re dancing.’

Later this month she’s going to be performing while wearing that very dress, on stage, reliving her own love story in a show written by the husband who adores her. 

He’ll play her leading man, literally sweeping her off her feet. Katya’s husband is, of course, fellow Strictly Come Dancing professional Neil Jones. 

The pair, who’ve been married for six years and together for just over a decade, were dance partners before they were lovers, and reached the top of their profession, becoming world Latin champions.

Neil and Katya Jones (pictured) who’ve been married for six years, spoke about how they overcame a blip in their relationship when Katya kissed her Strictly partner Seann Walsh 

A few years ago they hit on the idea of devising a show that would combine stellar dancing with a gripping story. 

Neil would mastermind the show, while Katya would design the costumes. 

And the story? Quite simply, the show, called Somnium, is a retelling of their own love story, an epic tale of how two unknowns from very different backgrounds would battle their way to the top in a ruthlessly competitive world.

It would be an unlikely story, granted, and colourful in more ways than one. 

The sultry Russian heroine would be paired up with the ginger Brit, and his hair colour would be the butt of a few jokes. 

‘It’s our story, yes,’ says Neil, explaining how every detail, down to their first kiss, will be played out at London’s world-famous Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

So what was that first kiss like in real life? The pair giggle. 

‘Well, it was on a beach,’ says Katya. 

‘We were in Russia rehearsing, and it just happened. It was romantic; there were horses on the beach.’ 

Neil laughs. 

‘I did ask about getting horses in the show, and Sadler’s Wells came back and said they’d had horses before, but it proved too problematic.’

It’s all so sweet. Or it would be were it not for the fact that between writing the show and getting it onto the stage, their real-life love story was given a most undesirable plot twist. 

Katya was photographed in the middle of another kiss – a drunken one in the street with her Strictly partner, comedian Seann Walsh – and all hell broke loose. 

Katya and Neil (pictured) reached the top of their profession and became the world Latin champions before joining Strictly Come Dancing in 2016

Katya and Neil (pictured) reached the top of their profession and became the world Latin champions before joining Strictly Come Dancing in 2016

Seann’s girlfriend dumped him and fired off an angry open letter about what a rubbish boyfriend he’d been anyway. 

The story even made the news bulletins.

And then there was Neil, who still had to turn up to work and watch his wife continue to dance with the man she’d been caught in a clinch with. 

To his credit, Neil reacted with amazing dignity. 

He says the fact he’s still with Katya today tells its own story about that chapter in their lives. 

‘It was a shock,’ he admits. 

‘And we had to work it out between ourselves, to understand what had happened. 

‘But I wasn’t going to allow that one little thing to get in the way of ten very happy years.

I didn’t want to run around in a panic. That’s just not me – Neil 

‘People have said to me, “Why didn’t you feel this? Why didn’t you say that?” For me, the initial reaction was to stay calm. 

‘I didn’t want to run around in a panic, because that’s not me. 

‘I’m private. I’m also quite positive. 

‘I wanted to speak to Katya – we had to sort it out privately.’

He says it was his mother who urged him not to over-react. 

‘Mum always said people make mistakes, and you have to be understanding. 

‘It was a mistake, and we’re here now, together, moving on.’ 

Presumably there were private showdowns that were more about fury than understanding?

Seann’s (pictured right kissing Katya in October) girlfriend dumped him after he was photographed with Katya, the dancer says every love story has its ups and downs

Seann’s (pictured right kissing Katya in October) girlfriend dumped him after he was photographed with Katya, the dancer says every love story has its ups and downs

 ‘We’re passionate people. But there was understanding too. I’m from a divorced family. I’ve seen things like this.’

Neil looks for an analogy from the dance world. 

‘When the person you’re dancing with makes a mistake, you don’t throw a fit and tell everyone they did the wrong step. 

‘You look at why the step was wrong, and how you can fix it.’

Of course none of this is alluded to in the stage show. 

The action stops even before the pair join Strictly Come Dancing. 

Isn’t there a risk the audience’s knowledge of the real-life predicament might sour their enjoyment of the unfolding love story? They say what happened to them simply shows what a rollercoaster love can be. 

‘Every love story has its ups and downs,’ says Katya. Neil nods. 

‘No relationship is perfect. I think people can relate to that.’

Over to Katya. She’s normally open, bubbly and warm, but quite understandably on this subject she’s more terse, and her answers sound rehearsed. 

The normal trajectory in these post-Strictly interviews is that the pro dancer gushes about how he or she is still best mates with their celeb partner, and will be for life. 

None of that here.

Quite the opposite, in fact – Katya clearly doesn’t want to even mention Seann’s name. 

Katya (pictured with Neil on their wedding day in 2013) apologised to Neil at the time she kissed Sean and fought to not allow the mistake to jeopardise their relationship

Katya (pictured with Neil on their wedding day in 2013) apologised to Neil at the time she kissed Sean and fought to not allow the mistake to jeopardise their relationship 

I suspect she’s still cross with herself, more so perhaps than Neil is with her. 

With that one drunken kiss she didn’t only invite a question mark to be put over her marriage, but also over her professionalism.

‘I apologised when it happened, and I’m happy to apologise again now.

‘I made a mistake, but I don’t want that one mistake to jeopardise everything we’ve built. 

‘And it hasn’t. We have our trust back.’ Neil? ‘Oh, 100 per cent. I wouldn’t be sitting here if there wasn’t trust. 

‘We wouldn’t be putting on a show together, working together.’

I don’t want one mistake to jeopardise everything – Katya 

Perhaps what the debacle illustrates is what utter pros you have to be in such circumstances. 

Katya and Seann performed for three more weeks until they were finally voted off the show. 

Neil kept turning up for work and smiling for the cameras, although tellingly he says he never had a conversation with Seann about the incident.

(‘There was no need to,’ he says. ‘So many celebs come into Strictly but apart from Seann dancing with Katya I didn’t know him.’)

Katya says she just had to prove how professional she was (albeit belatedly) and get on with the job. ‘Of course I regretted it. 

‘I apologised for the pain I’d caused, to Neil, to our families, even to the fans, who didn’t expect that. 

‘Emotions were high, but Strictly said we could continue, so I knew I had to teach this person how to dance, no matter what.’ 

Katya (pictured with Neil in a photocall for last year’s Strictly tour) says her first thought when her kiss with Seann went public was to be as truthful as possible

Katya (pictured with Neil in a photocall for last year’s Strictly tour) says her first thought when her kiss with Seann went public was to be as truthful as possible

It might have been easier for all involved if they’d been voted off the show the following week, but Katya sounds relieved they weren’t. 

‘They kept us on, which was great. It showed it was about the dancing, nothing more. 

‘And the moment we went out it was because the dancing wasn’t good enough.’

She says that when the news broke, her only concern was in being honest with Neil. 

‘When it came out I thought, “I’ve got to tell Neil.” My first thought was that I wanted to be as truthful as possible with him.’ 

She makes it sound so considerate, but this honesty was coming after the event, when she knew the news was already heading for the front pages? ‘Well, yes.’

I dyed my hair once. It looked ridiculous. Never again – Neil 

I conclude this uncomfortable topic by asking if this has been the biggest blip they’ve encountered in their marriage. 

‘There have been plenty of blips on the professional side,’ says Neil. 

‘But on the relationship side, yes.’ Katya doesn’t seem to entirely agree. 

‘We’ve been tested so many times. 

‘Trying to make it in our world isn’t easy, constantly being judged, getting knocked down. 

‘You have to be really strong to get through. It’s not like that was the biggest test of our lives.’

So do they seem happy together? Well, yes. 

Obviously, they’re both consummate performers, so nothing is for sure, but they seem perfectly at ease with each other. 

Katya revealed Neil's mother was supportive after the Seann situation as she's seen how much she and Neil have been through

Katya revealed Neil’s mother was supportive after the Seann situation as she’s seen how much she and Neil have been through 

They finish one another’s sentences, make jokes, and when they’re talking about how they fell in love, she touches his arm.

They’re chalk and cheese physically, though, and their backgrounds were worlds apart. 

Katya was born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova in St Petersburg to wealthy Russian energy company executive Andrey Sokolov and his ethnic Korean wife Tatiana. 

She started dance lessons at the age of six, and also trained in gymnastics, singing, drawing and piano.

Neil, meanwhile, was born in a British Army camp in Munster, West Germany, where his father was stationed. 

His parents later divorced. He started dance lessons aged three, and was better known in the dance world than Katya when they met. 

Early in their careers, the pair lived with his mother. 

‘She saw how hard we struggled,’ admits Katya, explaining why Neil’s mother was so supportive after the Seann situation. 

‘She knew how much we’d been through.’

The pair were brought together because, despite living in different countries, they shared a coach, Richard Porter (‘he’d fly to Russia to train me,’ says Katya). 

The stage show is told from his perspective; the coach character is the narrator. 

In 2008, he told Katya the guy he had in mind to be her next partner would be dancing at a contest in Blackpool and they could link up to see if there was any chemistry (in a professional sense). 

Neil (pictured with Katya on the Lorraine TV show) says he dyed his hair once, after being advised it was necessary to be a convincing Latin dancer

Neil (pictured with Katya on the Lorraine TV show) says he dyed his hair once, after being advised it was necessary to be a convincing Latin dancer 

Katya took her mum with her, who, not knowing which of the male dancers the coach had lined up for her daughter when she first saw them, declared, ‘I hope it’s not the ginger one.’ 

Why? ‘Because of his hair colour,’ Katya laughs. 

‘She loves him now, but that was her first reaction. She wasn’t impressed.’

Neil sees the funny side. 

He makes an interesting point about being a redhead in the ballroom dancing world, quipping that people with red hair have thicker skin. 

‘It comes from years of being teased about it.’ 

When he started on the professional ballroom circuit he was advised to dye his hair, on the grounds no one could be a convincing Latin dancer with ginger hair. 

‘I did it once,’ he laughs. ‘It looked ridiculous so I said never again. It’s all changed now, of course. 

You’re constantly being judged on everything you do. Not many people survive it – Katya 

‘Now it’s OK – in any competition you see a smattering of ginger heads. 

‘It makes me happy. 

‘Young kids still ask me about it, and I always say, “Be who you are. Don’t change.”’

The fight to become world dance champions dominates the plot of the show. 

‘It’s a really tough world,’ admits Katya. 

‘You’re constantly being judged on everything you do. Not many people survive it.’

Dance partnerships are fickle things, but many do develop into full-blown romances, and theirs did. 

‘It was a gradual thing,’ says Neil. 

‘We were spending all this time together but I’d had other dance partners before and there was no hint of romance there. 

‘But this one was different. 

Neil (pictured with Katya in London) revealed taking part in Strictly has opened many doors, including the possibility to pitch their own show

Neil (pictured with Katya in London) revealed taking part in Strictly has opened many doors, including the possibility to pitch their own show 

‘Our coach thought we’d be good together because, he said, we were “both as mad as each other”, and we just laughed at the same things.’

Neil and Katya married in 2013 in London, where they settled, but they were still travelling all over the world to compete. 

Obviously Strictly brought them into the public domain. 

Katya stormed into the show in 2016, with her unforgettable routines with Ed Balls.

Neil joined the same year, but in the pool of show dancers rather than paired with a celeb. 

Did that cause problems at home? ‘No way,’ says Katya. 

‘It wasn’t personal, it was just that they needed a girl in that position.’

Despite the fact their Strictly fame has put them in a sometimes difficult spotlight, the couple don’t seem to regret becoming part of the show. 

‘It’s opened so many doors,’ admits Neil. 

They know they wouldn’t have been successful in pitching their own show without the glare of the Strictly limelight too.

Later this month they start rehearsing for a Strictly Professionals tour, suggesting it’s business as usual. 

The really interesting part, though, will come when the next Strictly series kicks off in the autumn. 

Will this be the year Neil gets a celebrity partner? And will the show’s bosses pair him with the shapeliest celebrity sexpot they can find, just to see if Katya is as understanding as he is?

For now, though, they’re presenting a Strictly united front. 

They won’t be drawn on whether the next step in their marriage will be having children (‘this show is our baby for now,’ says Katya), but they’re only too aware that the whole world will be watching what Mr and Mrs Jones do next, and whether they can remain in step.  

Somnium: A Dancer’s Dream is at Sadler’s Wells, London, from 20-22 June. For tickets and more information visit sadlerswells.com.

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