Strictly Come Dancing professional Neil Jones has been left without a celebrity partner for the 2026 series, prompting a characteristically blunt response from the 44-year-old dancer.
Jones, who has been part of the BBC show since 2016, has only had three celebrity partners in that time: Alex Scott in 2019, Nina Wadia in 2021 and Toyah Willcox in 2022. This year, he is again unpartnered after the launch show revealed the 15 celebrity pairings.
Failed pen trick sums up frustration
In a video posted on Instagram, Jones wrote: “If I get the pen in the bin I will get a celeb partner.” The clip shows him dropping a pen over a bin, only for someone else to catch it before it lands. He walks away with a disgruntled expression as awkward music plays.
In the caption, he added: “Pen in the cup 2.0 😂 You know I love being part of @bbcstrictly and honestly after adding 2 Guiness world records last year to my 45 titles around the world, I feel like it would be greedy to win the glitter ball as well so I wanted to give the others a chance 😜😂😂😂.”
Fellow stars and fans react
Pro dancer Kai Widdrington called Jones the “goat” (greatest of all time) in the comments. Bethany Antonia, who is competing this year with Nancy Xu in the first same-sex pairing in three years, wrote: “Screaming. I love you 😂🥲.”
Fans expressed disappointment that Jones is without a partner again. One commenter, Jem, said: “So sad that you haven’t gotten a partner again this year.” Another, Poppy, wrote: “Christmas special’s yours boo.” Charlotte called for “a government petition to give Neil a partner next year,” while Becki said she was “gutted you haven’t been paired up 🥺”. Lynne wrote: “Can’t believe you didn’t get a partner…AGAIN! 😢,” and Lyn added: “The best professional on the show and once again no partner, I am so disappointed, and if it wasn’t for you being there I would stop watching it.😢.”
Full 2026 couples revealed
The full list of celebrity-pro pairings for the 2026 series includes Lacey Turner with Vito Coppola, Dani Dyer with Nikita Kuzmin, Bethany Antonia with Nancy Xu, and Will Best with Dianne Buswell, among others.
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday night on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
