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Katya Jones shares 'heartbreaking' reason she almost quit Strictly Come Dancing

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Cite

Karasin, E. (2026, October 9). Katya Jones shares 'heartbreaking' reason she almost quit Strictly Come Dancing. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/katya-jones-strictly-come-dancing-b1300137.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-09 · by Ekin Karasin

Quick Summary

Katya Jones shared her personal struggles with returning to "Strictly Come Dancing," revealing that she was emotionally distraught after last year's unexpected exit from the competition. She expressed uncertainty about facing another intense season but ultimately decided to continue participating due to fan support and her own love for the show. The article focuses on Jones's emotional journey, including her tearful acknowledgment of past mistakes during a spin-off episode, which garnered praise from judges and audience alike despite leading to her exit.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Katya Jones, a dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, shared her struggles with returning to the show. She expressed doubt about continuing due to the intense nature of the competition and feelings of disappointment after last year's unexpected exit, which left her heartbroken. Jones said that if she ever stops loving the show, she will leave it behind. Her decision was influenced by an emotional moment on a spin-off show where she discussed the circumstances leading to her and partner Chris Ramsey's departure from the competition. This year, the show is hosted by new presenters Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe. Jones admitted that external expectations and personal aspirations contributed to her emotional struggle with Strictly Come Dancing's demands.

Written for “Strictly Come Dancing Controversy” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Strictly Come Dancing Controversy
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different events within the same context of Strictly Come Dancing, but focus on separate incidents: one about Katya Jones considering quitting and another about Melanie Walters being eliminated from the show.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8456 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ekin Karasin
79 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Ekin Karasin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 79 articles by Ekin Karasin →

Topics

BBC Two MailOnline

Subjects

Jones PERSON · 7× Humphries PERSON · 2× Walsh PERSON · 2× Cope PERSON · 1× Emma Willis PERSON · 1× Johannes Radebe PERSON · 1× Josh Widdicombe PERSON · 1× MailOnline ORG · 1× Motsi Mabuse PERSON · 1× Shirley Ballas PERSON · 1×

Narrative

“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 told MailOnline.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 Jones admitted she “wasn’t sure if she could face” any further disappointment when asked to return for the new series - which is hosted by new presenters Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe.
2026-10-09 · Evening Standard
Katya Jones shares 'heartbreaking' reason she almost quit Strictly Come Dancing · assertive framing

Claims (25 extracted, 3 hedged)

Jones admitted she “wasn’t sure if she could face” any further disappointment when asked to return for the new series - which is hosted by new presenters Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe. uncertain
which → admit → presenters
“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 told MailOnline. asserted
she → question → MailOnline
“Every time I ask myself, and if the answer is still yes, I’ll be here doing it. asserted
I → ask → it
And I must say, last year I was very heartbroken. asserted
I → say → ?
So there was a lot of doubt, like, ‘Can I face it again?’” asserted
I → be → it
Jones added: “I guess our expectation was so high and not even from us, externally, you kind of see yourself getting all the way there. asserted
yourself → add → us
And then to have had it cut short was a little bit tough.” asserted
it → cut → ?
Jones also said that the moment she “doesn’t love Strictly” is the moment she will “walk away”. asserted
she → say → Strictly
The dancer broke down in tears last year on Strictly’s spin-off show, It Takes Two, while discussing hers and Cope’s exit from the competition in December. asserted
It → break → December
"Looking back, obviously, I can't help but think I could have done things differently to make things better for him," she said while crying. uncertain
she → look → him
"He can only do what I've asked him to do, and he didn't just do that this time. asserted
he → ask → that
He did that every single time. asserted
He → do → that
We were in a tough position expected to deliver these almost-perfect, show stopping routines every single Saturday, which you did. asserted
you → expect → which
I don't know how you did. asserted
you → know → ?
But you did." asserted
you → do → ?
The routine left judges Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas on their feet, while the studio erupted into thunderous applause. asserted
studio → leave → applause
The couple was awarded 31 points, after Anton Du Beke declared the routine “extraordinary” and Craig Revel Horwood applauded the dance as “classy, elegant and graceful”. asserted
Horwood → award → dance
The pair also topped the leaderboard last week and Nellis is now among the favourites to win the show. asserted
Nellis → top → show
Read More Jones has been on 10 series of Strictly and is a seasoned favourite with fans - but has also experienced her fair share of scandal. asserted
Jones → read → scandal
At the time, Walsh was in a five-year relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries, whilst Jones was married to fellow professional dancer on the show Neil Jones. asserted
Jones → marry → Jones
The kiss took place on Humphries’ birthday. asserted
kiss → take → birthday
The controversy went from bad to worse when Humphries spoke out about what had gone on, alleging that Walsh had called her a “psycho” for suggesting that something might be going on between him and Jones, despite fans noticing their undeniable chemistry. uncertain
fans → go → chemistry
The pair appeared on the BBC Two spin-off show It Takes Two to address the situation, which they called a one-off mistake. asserted
they → appear → which
They were voted off the show a few weeks later in October 2018. asserted
They → vote → October
The following year, Jones and Neil announced their separation, though claimed it had nothing to do with the kissing scandal. asserted
it → announce → scandal
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