KATYA JONES SAYS SHE NEARLY QUIT STRICTLY AFTER ELIMINATION

Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Jones has said she considered quitting the show after she and her celebrity partner, actor Lewis Cope, were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2025 series. The pair had been among the favourites to win before their exit. Jones described herself as "heartbroken" by the result and said she questioned whether she could face the possibility of a similar disappointment again before agreeing to return for the current series. She said she asks herself each year whether she is ready for the demands of the competition, and that she will continue only for as long as she still loves doing it.

Jones, who has danced professionally on the show for 11 years, said she and Cope faced greater pressure than other pairings to produce high-quality routines each week. Following their elimination, she said Cope was the best male celebrity dancer the show has seen. The two later appeared on the former companion programme It Takes Two, where Jones became tearful and said she blamed herself for the elimination, suggesting she might have approached their partnership differently. Cope responded by telling her she had "done everything perfectly".

For the current series, Jones is partnered with YouTube personality John Nellis, and the pair topped the leaderboard after the first week of competition. Nellis is currently the bookmakers' favourite to win the series. Jones said her expectations, and those of others, had been high heading into last year's run, making the early exit harder to accept. She has not said whether this will be her final series as a professional on the show.