Neil Jones, a professional dancer on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, has addressed the new welfare measures the dance competition has implemented in an exclusive chat with GB News.
Speaking on the red carpet at this year’s NTAs, Jones shed light on how the new changes have impacted the show behind the scenes following a tumultuous few months.
Earlier this year, the BBC show introduced the new measures following a series of complaints against its pro dancers last year.
The complaints and subsequent investigation – which remains ongoing at the time of writing – resulted in the departures of Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice from the pro line-up.
WATCH NEIL JONES’S FULL INTERVIEW WITH GB NEWS FROM THE NTAS RED CARPET HERE
In an attempt to ensure similar incidents won’t arise again, the Beeb decided to introduce chaperones to pairings, with a member of the production team on hand in rehearsals at all times and two new producers looking after both the celebrities’ and dancers’ welfare.
Opening up about the impact of the changes, Jones told the People’s Channel it’s not something that’s deterred his passion for the show.
“Every year we have something new, you know, with any show that you work with,” he told GB News.
“I do stuff on Morning Live as well, they grow, they develop and it’s great. And it’s a place I just love being,” he said of the new measures.
Looking around the NTAs red carpet, he added: “Even when we’re here walking down (the red carpet), some of the cameramen work with us on Strictly. So it’s nice to see everyone see all the same faces back again.”
Jones has been part of the Strictly family since 2016 but during that time, he’s only competed twice in the main series with celeb partners Alex Scott and Nina Wadia.
But despite the lack of pairings during his time on the show, Jones’s love for the competition hasn’t diminished.
“You know, it’s one of those things where I love being part of the show so much (that) I always say every time I don’t care if it’s just the Christmas special with Tillie [Amartey] or having a partner on the main show, it’s about being supportive,” he passionately said.
“We work together so much, we help each other all year round,” Jones said. “I just love this show. I say to them every time, ‘However you need me, you let me know. I’ll be there for you’.”
If anything, being denied a celebrity partner for the 2023 series worked in Jones’s favour as he welcomed his first child with partner Chyna Mills in October 2023.
“Last year everything went for the right reasons,” Jones admitted.
“I had my daughter and I wouldn’t have had time for her. So I got to see her in those early stages which was brilliant.”
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Ahead of Saturday’s launch show, it’s yet to be revealed who Jones has been paired with for the 2024 series – if he indeed has been.
There have been a handful of pairings that fans are convinced they’ve worked out, however, following clues emerging online.
Katya Jones, for instance, is widely believed to be paired with Wynne Evans for the new series thanks to a clue on her Spotify account while Nick Knowles is supposedly gearing up for the dancefloor with Nadiya Bychkova.
Meanwhile, his Strictly co-star Anton Du Beke also spoke to GB News on the NTAs red carpet where he too addressed how the changes have impacted the series.
