Neil Jones has been praised by fans for his 'fabulous response' to not competing in this year's edition of Strictly Come Dancing after not being given a celebrity partner to teach and perform alongside during the 2026 series.
Neil Jones' Strictly history
The professional dancer first joined the hit BBC dance programme back in 2016, alongside now ex-wife Katya Jones. He was not partnered with a celebrity, but participated in group dances and was on standby for any female celebrity whose partner was unable to dance.
Neil has remained part of the show ever since, but has had only three celebrity dance partners - footballer-turned-pundit Alex Scott in 2019, actress Nina Wadia in 2021, and singer Toyah Willcox in 2024.
No celebrity partner for 2026 series
As the new series got underway with the pre-recorded launch show last month, it was revealed that Neil was one of four pros not to have a celebrity partner, with there being only 15 celebrities taking part, and 19 pro dancers signed up for the 2026 series.
As well as Neil, newcomers Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori and Lethabo Monametsi were also left without a celeb, however, they still remain very much part of the series - and the 'Strictly Family' - and continued to appear in various dances throughout the upcoming season, as well as joining their co-stars in the ballroom every Saturday night until December.
Neil's humorous social media response
At the time, Neil reacted to the news by taking to Instagram with a new version of a video he recorded last year in which he could be seen behind-the-scenes at Elstree Studios and a message across the clip read: "If I get the pen in the bin, I will get a celeb partner this year."
He picked up a large bin and placed in front of the camera, but as he prepared to drop the pen in, someone's hand reached in and grabbed it. He pretended to be annoyed and walked off, however, Neil captioned the post: "Pen in the cup 2.0 [crying laughing emoji]."
"You know I love being part of @bbcstrictly and honestly after adding 2 Guinness 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 [crying laughing emojis] #strictly #launchshow #funny."
But Neil hasn't stopped there, as over the weekend, as Movie Week arrived in the Strictly ballroom, he was busy sharing videos on Instagram, which continued to poke fun at his absence from the competing line-up. In one, he has used an ageing filter and can be seen miming to the viral 'It's been 84 years' audio from the 1997 film, Titanic. "It's 2108. It's been 84 years since I last had a Strictly partner… but apparently this is 'my year.' #strictly #comedy #dancer," Neil captioned the tongue-in-cheek post.
In another, he roped in his Strictly co-stars Carlos Gu, Julian Caillon and Kai Widdrington as they all mimed along to the Aretha Franklin hit, Respect. "When I'm the only one without a partner, and all I want is respect," a message across the clip read. "They got celebrity partners… I got character development [crying laughing face and dancer emojis] #Strictly #Dancers #comedy," he then captioned the post.
Fans show support
And fans were quick to respond. @rainbowandsprites said: "Stop with these! [crying laughing emojis] I feel so sad for you every year!!! Next year is your year or just have your own show!!" @denisedekneez commented: "[crying laughing emojis] Oh Neil, this is one reason we love you." @triciaquigley wrote: "Fabulous response! Have a great week."
@wrmrs51 replied: "You're so enjoying this aren't you Neil [crying laughing emojis]. Would actually love to see you with a partner though." @bertie_boo_cavapoo posted: "We all love you Neil and you should definitely have your own show." @lucymaygoodwin added: "You'll be the one laughing when you lift that Christmas special glitterball [crying laughing emoji]."
