Professional dancer Katya Jones has revealed the heartbreak she felt during the last series of Strictly Come Dancing made her question whether she would return to the BBC show. The 37-year-old is currently partnered with content creator John Nellis, but last year she danced with Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope.
Katya and Lewis made it far in the competition before being eliminated in the quarter finals after facing Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin in the dance-off. Speaking to MailOnline, Katya said she had doubts about returning for an 11th series.
Heartbreak and doubt
Katya said: "Every year, I do question myself, like really think, 'Are you ready for this really intense, really all-consuming thing again and again and again and again?'"
She added: "Every time I ask myself, and if the answer is still yes, I'll be here doing it. And I must say, last year I was very heartbroken. So there was a lot of doubt, like, 'Can I face it again?'"
Katya confessed that there was a 'high' expectation on them, and they saw themselves going all the way. She said: "Then to have had it cut short was a little bit tough."
Return and new faces
Despite her doubts, Katya decided to return for another year, following the exit of several other professionals, including Karen Hauer, Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, and Luba Mushtuk. This year, the show has welcomed five new professionals and three new presenters: Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe.
Katya and John were fourth on the leaderboard ahead of the first elimination last weekend, when their week one and two scores were combined. At the other end of the scale, Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec were at the bottom with a total score of 30. However, the Gavin & Stacey actress missed landing in the dance-off and survived another week, as Jaime Winstone and Chris Appleton were in the first dance-off of the series.
First elimination
It was a unanimous decision to save Jaime, ending Chris' time on the show with his professional partner Amy Dowden. Speaking about their exit at the time, Amy said: "Watching Chris grow in confidence, although it was short-lived, only two weeks, that is what I'll take away. Obviously, I'm heartbroken. This seems to be my luck the last few years, but my heart is only breaking because I don't get to dance with you on Monday."
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday on BBC One from 6:15pm.
