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Strictly Come Dancing viewers have been left in shock after professional dancer Neil Jones made a faux pas live on air.
Despite being on the show since 2016, Neil, 41, had become known for being one of the few professional dancers to have a celebrity partner, so when the show’s launch on Saturday night revealed he was paired with ’80s legend Toya Wilcox, the star did little to hide his delight.
While chatting to the couple on the couch, Claudia joked that Neil had his own line of merchandise, before cameras showed a photo of Neil’s 11-month-old daughter Havana wearing a baby onesie with the words: “My dad FINALLY has a partner.”
As the studio roared and cheered, Neil raised his fist and repeatedly shouted, “Finally!”
However, some viewers were left confused by the outburst and turned to X to quickly remind Neil that they had paired him up before and hadn’t forgotten about it, despite him seemingly having done so.
Strictly Come Dancing viewers left in shock after professional dancer Neil Jones made a major faux pas live on air
Despite being on the show since 2016, Neil had become known for being one of the few professional dancers to be assigned a celebrity partner, so when it was revealed on Saturday night that he was paired with Toya Wilcox, the star did little to hide his delight.
In a post on X, one wrote: “Daddy finally has a partner. Did you forget about this queen?!” before posting a picture of himself with sports pundit Alex Scott, 39, who he reached the quarter-finals with in 2019.
Another viewer posted a photo of Neil with actress Nina Wadia, 54, who he was paired with two years later and captioned it: ‘Let’s not forget Ninia Wadia who was robbed of a lot when she was eliminated first.’
However, others were quick to come to the professional dancer’s defence, explaining that it was all a joke as the couple had been brewing for a long time.
“Because it’s been a couple of years, not because she’s never had a partner… it’s because it’s been a long time… it’s been a long time… she hasn’t had a partner in years, it’s like a joke from a long time ago. I wasn’t saying that she’s never had a partner.”
As the show progressed, when Claudia asked her how it felt to be paired with Neil, Toya replied, “I met Neil and I felt like I was in heaven. You’re all beautiful guys, but not as beautiful as Neil.”
Toya also promised she would be “the first retiree to rappel down the studio.”
Earlier this year, the Latin dancer revealed in an exclusive interview with MailOnline that not fronting Strictly meant he missed the birth of his daughter Havana.
Television personality and Love Island star Chyna Mills, 24, welcomed their first child together in October 2023 after going public with their romance in August 2022.
As she chatted to the couple on the couch, Claudia joked that Neil had his own line of merchandise, before cameras showed a photo of Neil’s 11-month-old daughter Havana wearing a baby onesie and the words: ‘My dad FINALLY has a partner.’
As the studio roared and cheered, Neil raised his fist and repeatedly shouted, “Finally!”
Some viewers were left confused by the outburst and turned to X to remind Neil that he had been paired up before, however others jumped to the dancers’ defence claiming it was a joke.
The Latin dancer previously revealed in an exclusive interview with MailOnline that not fronting the show meant he missed the birth of his baby daughter Havana.
TV personality and Love Island star Chyna Mills, 24, welcomed her first child in October 2023 after first going public with her romance in August 2022 (pictured in November).
Chyna took to Instagram to announce her daughter’s arrival, sharing a black-and-white image of her daughter’s toes and writing, “Our hearts are so full” in October 2023.
She told MailOnline: ‘This year everything happened in the right way, because if I’d had a partner, I wouldn’t have been there for the birth of my daughter’ (pictured June 2023)
At the time, Neil told MailOnline: ‘Every year I tell the show bosses when I have a partner or not. It doesn’t bother me.
‘I would say, do what you have to do, if you find the right partner for me, I’m there for you.
“But don’t think you have to give me a famous partner, that’s not a priority. I enjoy when I get that opportunity at Christmas.
‘This year everything went well because if I had had a partner I would not have been present at my daughter’s birth.
“I am always very grateful to Strictly for being on this great show and I trust and respect them.”