Katya Jones has spoken publicly about the personal toll of several high-profile incidents during her nine years on Strictly Come Dancing, saying one controversy led to a breakdown but that she "wouldn't change a thing" about her time on the BBC ballroom show.
Jones, 36, who joined Strictly in 2016 and has been partnered with celebrities including Ed Balls, Adam Peaty and Joe McFadden — with whom she won the series — told OK! magazine she now tries to block out outside noise by "focusing on the work" and keeping her private life separate from her public profile.
Her first major scandal came in 2018, when photographs surfaced of Jones kissing then-partner Seann Walsh during a night out while both were in other relationships. The images made front-page news and prompted widespread coverage and commentary. Jones has since described the incident as "a one-off mistake after drinks." Following the fallout, her then-husband and fellow Strictly professional Neil Jones initially presented a united front with her; the couple split about 10 months later and now remain friends.
Jones said the public reaction affected her deeply. She recalled reading online comments about a year after the controversy, breaking down in her car and FaceTiming her mother, who urged her to carry on. "She said, 'Stop crying! Do you think everybody’s going to be nice to you? No. So wipe your tears and go and crack on with your job. You’re good at it and you signed up to it,'" Jones told the magazine.
In subsequent series, Jones has also been the subject of reports of tension with celebrity partners. In 2022 tabloids carried claims that she and former Arsenal player Tony Adams were at odds after intensive rehearsals; footage from a live show showed a heated exchange in the closing moments of a programme. Both Jones and Adams later acknowledged the pressures of the show, with Adams saying he found the learning process "brutal" and that Jones could be "a little over critical" while also praising her choreography.
During the latest series, a moment with Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans drew viewer attention when Evans briefly placed a hand along Jones's waist and she appeared to brush it away. Viewers construed the exchange as evidence of a rift; Jones and Evans described the incident as an "inside joke" and denied any ongoing feud. Evans said the moment was a "silly" and "bad" joke that had been misinterpreted.
That episode was followed by separate developments: in May, The Mail on Sunday published an allegation that led to Evans being dismissed from the BBC after he was reported to have made an inappropriate comment about another professional dancer, Janette Manrara. Evans's removal from the corporation was reported independently of Jones's comments about the live-show incident.
Jones told OK! she has learned to live with the scrutiny, drawing a distinction between public perception and her private life. "People can like or dislike me, they can criticise me, but not my work if I do it well. It’s like I have two parallel lives – my public life and what really happens in my life. They co-exist but they’re not the same," she said. She added that some difficult moments "could have gone either way," but stressed that she would not change her experiences on the show because they helped shape who she is.
As Strictly prepares for another series, Jones said she remains loyal to the programme and focused on her professional responsibilities, continuing to rehearse and choreograph for celebrity partners while seeking to shield her personal life from public commentary.