Strictly Come Dancing's John Nellis and Katya Jones are top of the leaderboard after week one, but body language expert Judi James has warned the couple could face trouble soon.
The 33-year-old Northern Irish YouTuber, paired with professional dancer Katya Jones, danced a Foxtrot to Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' and earned a combined score of 31, shooting to the top of the leaderboard. Judges Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas were on their feet, with Anton Du Beke hailing the performance "extraordinary" and saying it left him "stunned".
Expert highlights 'early success syndrome'
In her blog on week one, Judi James noted how Katya "excels in creating winners", but the "huge problem she has" is "the curse of the 'early success syndrome'". The expert explained: "John has shown promise and that will be enough to trigger Katya's capacity for hard work and grit to get to the final."
She added: "She gave huge back pats at the end of the dance to reward John, but there was a very telling body language signal in terms of how he will be spending the next few weeks." Judi highlighted Katya's "clawed hand" which showed her "strong desire to make him a winner", adding how "that clawed hand was then pressed into his chest to show how hard they would work together to achieve a win".
Katya's track record
She continued: "The huge problem she now has is the curse of the 'early success syndrome'. Celebs that start as strongly as this raise expectations for the next show and often struggle to recapture their initial form and sustain it through the long run. If anyone can do it, though, it's Katya."
Katya has been part of the Strictly family since 2016, and the following year she won the competition with her dance partner, actor Joe McFadden. Since then, she is yet to reach the final, with her highest ranking being fifth place.
Reaction to debut
Following his debut performance, John took to Instagram to reflect on the evening, saying: "Last night was definitely out of the ordinary. Can't thank you all enough for being so kind." Katya responded in the comments, saying: "So proud of you, partner."
His fellow contestants also praised his performance, with Delta Goodrem saying: "John, this was so beautiful." Dame Sarah Storey shared: "Sensational, what an atmosphere you created." Graeme Hall added: "One to remember for sure."
Katya was told by host Johannes Radebe it was "not an easy routine", but she was thrilled to have seen her partner enjoy himself on the dancefloor. She shared: "What I love the most about my job, about this show, is to see the potential and put my heart and soul into moments like that when you finish and you feel proud of yourself. So you can see that transformation. I think we could all agree that's why we are here."
John credited his professional partner, saying: "It's all down to Katya, honestly. Twelve days ago, I had never danced, and she made me do that, so."
The pair's top score will carry over to tonight's show and be combined with their week two score before the first couple of 2026 is voted off in Sunday's results show.
