Dancings

Neil Jones’ facial expression led Strictly fans to claim that the pro dancer looked ‘disgusted’ after Carlos Gu and Jaime Winstone performed a foxtrot to Man I Need by Olivia Dean

Strictly Come Dancing fans have said they thought Neil Jones looked “disgusted” after watching a couple’s dance.

The professional dancer, 44, faced backlash on social media after Carlos Gu, 33, and Jaime Winstone, 41, finished their dance. The pair, who were the first to perform on the October 24 show, danced a foxtrot to Man I Need by Olivia Dean.

As Carlos and Jaime hugged following their dance, the camera panned to the balcony, capturing Neil’s expression, which viewers then addressed on social media. One asked: “Why did Neil look disgusted?” Another said: “Had a face like a slapped a**e.”

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A third jumped in: “Neil needs to be given a partner & all will be solved. I’ve had enough of him being there to make up the numbers. He’s a great dancer & deserves to have a partner for the series!”

One more shared: “Sorry, Neil, have you got a problem with Jaime Winstone’s dance pal?” Someone else wrote: “I’d check if Neil’s armed. He’s fizzing.”

Neil has missed out yet again on a celebrity partner in this year’s show, with his last famous pairing being in 2024. Two years ago, Neil was paired with singer Toyah Willcox, but they lasted two weeks before being eliminated.

Last year, the professional dancer lost his father, and earlier this week, he posted on social media to pay tribute to him. Posting a picture

It is an emotional time of year for Neil as he lost his beloved father around this time last year. The dancer posted a tribute on Instagram earlier this week, as he returned to social media to mark a year since his dad’s passing.

Sharing a picture of them sharing a pint together, Neil told his followers: “It’s been a year, and I know you’ll be having a pint, smiling and looking down on us all.” He captioned the post: “Thinking of you.”

Meanwhile, many fans were left disappointed by the judges’ scores for Jaime and Carlos after their foxtrot. The pair, who opened the show, scored 25 out of 40, with every judge giving them a six, except Anton du Beke, who gave them a seven.

“I absolutely love Jaime and Carlos, and I thought the Foxtrot was gorgeous, much better than the judges are making out. Queue undermarking,” a fan said. Another tweeted: “I’m no dance professional but surely Jaime & Carlos was undermarked there?”

A third said: “That was a beautiful foxtrot routine from Carlos, so traditional. It was a bit lumpy and I did notice the couple of mistakes from Jaime, but overall I enjoyed it and I noticed some good footwork plus her spins were gorgeous. I felt the judges were a bit harsh.”

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Bethany Antonia has said she chose to wear her ‘Protect the Dolls’ T-shirt during her Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals without realising it was linked to a charity

Bethany Antonia has broken her silence on the Strictly Come Dancing censorship row, defending the BBC’s decision to blur a pro-trans slogan on her t-shirt.

The House of the Dragon actress spoke out after the broadcaster faced intense viewer backlash for editing out the slogan “Protect the Dolls” from a t-shirt Bethany, 28, wore during week three rehearsal footage. The star, who is paired with Chinese professional dancer Nancy Xu, 35, on the show, admitted that she chose to wear the top without fully realising its commercial and charitable ties.

She said: “I think I made a choice to wear that T-shirt without considering the fact that it was linked to a charity, and that it was linked to what some people consider a brand. The BBC had to do what they had to do when they edited it out, to keep it fair for everybody.”

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However, she told Digital Spy that she was “thrilled to see so much support for the trans community” as she added: “I stand with my trans family in every way, and they knew what I was thinking when I wore that T-shirt. And that’s all that matters.”

In her Digital Spy interview, Bethany added that she would like to see a trans contestant on Strictly in the future, as she believed this would be “empowering for the whole community”. She shared: “The show is sort of learning with every year, every new contestant; it’s learning as it goes. I think it’s only a matter of years before we see a trans contestant.”

During the October 10 episode of Strictly, a clip was aired of Bethany wearing a top with “PROTECT THE DOLLS” written on it as viewers watched her during rehearsals. But later on in the show, the words were removed to make it appear as if the t-shirt was plain white.

The phrase “Protect The Dolls” is a pro-trans slogan which was first written on a top from fashion designer Conner Ives in 2025. Since then been worn by celebrities and has helped to raised hundreds of thousands for charities.

The term traces back to the 1980s Black and Latina underground ballroom scene in New York City, where “doll” was used as a term of solidarity for transgender women.

Many people hit out at the BBC on social media, accusing the broadcaster of censorship. However, a BBC spokesperson responded, saying: “As is standard practice on any entertainment show on the BBC and in line with our editorial guidelines, appropriate steps are taken to reduce the inclusion of any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question.”

That didn’t stop many online responding with annoyance, as a viewer said: “Ironically the phrase originated in the ballroom scene decades ago. It’s genuinely pathetic that the BBC refuses to allow anything remotely pro-trans to air. Love Bethany even more though.”

Another fumed: “The decision to digitally scrub the ‘Protect the Dolls’ slogan from Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt during Strictly Come Dancing is a shameful and cowardly act of censorship.”

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EXCLUSIVE: Strictly Come Dancing professional Kai Widdrington has shared what makes his dance partner Delta Goodrem so special as the singer prepares to return to the ballroom this weekend

Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington has revealed what makes his dance partner Delta Goodrem so special as the singer prepares to return to the ballroom.

A painful rib injury put Delta‘s Strictly Come Dancing journey on hold, forcing the singer to sit out last week’s show and leaving fans disappointed.

The 41-year-old first injured her ribs early last week, ahead of her performance on Saturday, October 10. Her condition worsened as the week went on, but she still took to the dance floor for the live BBC show despite being in excruciating pain. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror on the red carpet at the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, professional dancer Kai shared an insight into how Delta has been getting on as they prepare for Saturday’s show.

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He said: “Delta really enjoyed it too. It is nice being back in training. We’re looking forward to Saturday. She is doing good. She has a heart of gold, and her spirit is so pure and honest.

“She brings that energy to the training room and to the dance floor. She is unapologetically herself. She is such a professional with the way she carries herself around the place and the way she conducts herself on and off the dance floor, so to have that energy around me every day is very inspiring.”

With the competition continuing to heat up, the pressure will be on the pair to impress both the judges and viewers at home when they return to the ballroom.

And while Kai is keeping his expectations measured ahead of the weekend, he made it clear that he has faith in his celebrity partner and what they can achieve together.

He added: “We will see what happens Saturday, but I am confident in my partner.” Speaking of former professional dancer, Johannes Radebe, taking on the role of presenter, Kai commented: “He’s been brilliant, he’s one of my best friends, so to see him shining up there, he’s amazing. He used to be my roommate 11 years ago, way before Strictly was on the cards.

“When we were in South Africa together, he was telling me where he used to live, so to see him here, shining like the light he is, it’s the most amazing thing. I think Britain has kind of adopted him as one of our own.”

Delta had planned a dance to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” with Kai during Icons Week, but Amy Dowden performed it instead. A spokesperson for the show had said: “Due to injury, Delta Goodrem has been advised by doctors to rest and, as a result, will not dance on this weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing.

“In line with the rules of the show, Delta and Kai will receive a bye through to next week, when it is hoped they will be able to dance again. We wish Delta the very best as she continues her recovery.”

Delta added: “I’ve been loving every second of this experience, so having to sit this one out is heartbreaking – especially after the high of Saturday night.”

“I cannot tell you how much I love being a part of this magical show. I’m going to focus on resting and recovering, and hopefully I’ll be back on that dancefloor very soon. Thank you so much to everyone for all the love and support. It’s so appreciated. I’ll be cheering everyone on from the sidelines this week!”

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Strcitly Come Dancing’s second couple have been eliminated following week three’s close leaderboard, as two of the BBC dance competition’s celebrities battled it out in a dance off

Gavin & Stacey star Melanie Walters was the second celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing, after losing a dance-off against footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips.

64-year-old Melanie, who played Gwen West on the hit sitcom, was second from bottom on the leaderboard after she and pro dancer Aljaz Skorjanec received only 17 points for her Charleston to Gina G’s Ooh Ah… Just a Little Bit. She was only one slot above Shaun and Alexis Warr, who got 15 points for his Quickstep to I’m A Believer by the Monkees.

Both danced the same routines for the dance off, leaving the judges split on who to send home. Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas both thought Shaun had performed better, but Motsi Mabuse voted to keep Melanie. Anton du Beke had been given the deciding vote and chose to keep Shaun.

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Craig said: “Due to enthusiasm and technical ability, I would like to save Shaun and Alexis.” Motsi went on to say that she was saving Melanie, while Anton added: “I thought this was a super dance-off, and both couples should be really pleased with themselves, because they both performed very, very well. I was looking for somebody to have an uplift in their performance from Saturday night, and one couple did that for me. A couple I thought, uh, that did do that, and I’d like to save would be Shaun and Alexis.”

After being voted off, Melanie said: “To tell you the truth, no word of a lie, I thought I was going to be out last week, so I’ve had an extra week with this beautiful soul^.”

Fans had expected Melanie and Shaun to be in the dance off after both were at the bottom of the leaderboard, especially given that the top dancer of the night, Delta Goodrem, had scored 33, earning more than double what Shaun did. But despite the difference in points, the leaderboard was condensed because many couples shared the same score. As such, Shaun was only ninth from the top, rather than 14th.

Still, many viewers were heartbroken to see Melanie go. One said: “Firstly, I feel terrible for Melanie because she’s such a lovely lady and I love her partnership with Aljaz. She warms my heart every time I watch her dance, and she’s exactly what the show is all about. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a good Charleston from Melanie and Aljaz, which is a shame as I’ve been rooting for her since the start of the competition.”

Another said: “I understand the result, but I wish that couple had one more week.” And a third added that they thought Shaun wouldn’t be far behind: “Shaun and Melanie were of a similar level dance wise imo so not a controversial dumping, I find Shaun more entertaining so happy enough for him to have another week but I suspect he’ll be gone next week unless the judges massively overscore him ala his salsa last week”.

Last week saw the first elimination, with Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden going home. Celebrity stylist Chris got emotional after the decision was made, as did Amy.

He said, post-emlimination: “I think it’s been such a whirlwind of emotion. I’m 43 and I got good at doing what I did – which is hair. To come and do something like this, I felt so out of my comfort zone and saw myself in a way I never saw myself, and it challenged me in ways I never knew I could be challenged.

“I am very grateful for everyone who has been involved. It’s been so amazing to be part of something that I grew up watching and got to be a part of it.

“The most important thing I think I will take from this show is having a friend in Amy because I genuinely love her and I am so grateful I met someone who has so much heart and passion. I only wish I could have done better for her because she deserves to go further in the competition, but we did put everything into it.”

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