Neil Jones has addressed head-on the criticism he and celebrity dance partner Toyah Willcox have faced following this past weekend’s first Strictly Come Dancing elimination.
After finishing bottom of the leaderboard according to the judges’ scores, Willcox landed in the dreaded dance-off on Sunday evening as the public failed to vote her through automatically.
She was joined in the dance-off by Olympian Tom Dean and his pro partner Nadiya Bychkova, even though they ended up 10th on the leaderboard following the judges’ verdict.
Dean and Willcox had to perform one more time for judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke to try and keep their spot in the contest.
Following the dance-off, only Du Beke opted to save Dean and Bychkova, meaning the Team GB swimmer was sent home – sparking outrage among viewers and even some claims the competition was “fixed” in Willcox’s favour.
In the hours since the results show aired, Jones took to social media with a statement about the performance – and even hit back when viewers responded with their irked opinions.
“Ladies and Gentlemen when you ask me how my Saturday night went,” Jones began alongside an image from his and Willcox’s dance. “I just want to say it’s week 2 @toyahofficial is not a dancer but every day she’s improving.
“Each day I tell Toyah, it might not be perfect but you are improving and at the same time you are not losing who you really are and that is what @bbcstrictly is all about.
“You bring so much joy in our lives and I feel lucky that I have the opportunity to teach and guide you so we can both entertain,” he signed off, before soon being met with criticism.
One follower hit out: “Sorry Neil as much as I was over the moon that you had a partner this year, I’m very disappointed that Toyah was saved and Tom is out. Totally disagree with that decision.”
But Jones didn’t shy away as he fired back: “Thank you I’m really happy that I have the pleasure to teach a complete beginner like toyah and honestly the improvement she is making blows my mind, I wish nobody went home so we could see everyone improve.”
Jones faced further angered responses in the comments when a second similarly wrote: “Sorry I totally disagree with the judges decision.”
Again, Jones was keen to set the record straight and he replied: “I wish nobody would go home.
“Of course I fully understand, Tom was wonderful and such a great dancer, I wish we could watch everyone’s journey.”
And a third remarked: “Sorry Neil, you are fab, however seems Toyah was looking forward to Barbados!”
Jumpin to Willcox’s defence, Jones answered: “She’s was joking, she loves strictly and honestly I’ve never known someone to work as hard as her.” (sic)
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During Sunday’s results show, Dean branded his Strictly experience and working with Bychkova as “incredible” and admitted: “I wish I could have gone further and done more dances.
“I’ve had the most fun and I wish we could keep going longer and longer. We’ll still go out for loads of brunches I’m sure.”
Bychkova added: “To get to know him, he’s not just a three-time Olympic champion he’s a true gentleman and he taught me how to work really hard and how to put everything in.
“And you know what? On this programme, sometimes to win, you don’t need to win, and that’s how I feel this year.”
Soon after the results show aired, Bychkova was clearly so impacted by the decision that she issued a cryptic response informing fans that she “wasn’t ready” to discuss the results.
However, a few hours later, Bychkova took to Instagram to finally address her and Dean’s exit and reflect on their time working together.
