Tonight on the Strictly Come Dancing launch show, the 15 celebrities – including Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Bethany Antonia and Will Best – found out their partners.
However, not all of the pro dancers on the BBC series get to compete with a celebrity, and this year, Neil Jones has found himself unpartnered.
The 44-year-old has been a part of Strictly since 2016, and yet has only had three celebrity partners: Alex Scott in 2019, Nina Wadia in 2021 and Toyah Willcox in 2022.
Neil has responded directly to not having a partner yet again, as his personal Strictly curse continues – and his reaction is brutal, but brilliant.
In a video posted on Instagram, he wrote on top of it: ‘If I get the pen in the bin I will get a celeb partner.’
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The video then showed him holding a pen directly over a bin, dropping it… but then, before it has a chance to land in the receptacle, someone else extends their arm and catches it.
Neil walks away, a disgruntled expression on his face as awkward music plays in the background.
In his caption, the dancer and choreographer wrote: ‘Pen in the cup 2.0 😂
‘You know I love being part of @bbcstrictly and honestly after adding 2 Guiness world records last year to my 45 titles around the world, I feel like it would be greedy to win the glitter ball as well so I wanted to give the others a chance 😜😂😂😂.’
Several Strictly stars commented underneath the comical video, with pro dancer Kai Widdrington hailing Neil the ‘goat’ (greatest of all time).
‘Screaming. I love you 😂🥲,’ said House of the Dragon star Bethany Antona, who’s competing this year with Nancy Xu in the first same-sex pairing in three years.
Meanwhile, lots of Strictly fans expressed their confusion and upset over Neil not having a partner once more.
‘So sad that you haven’t gotten a partner again this year,’ said Jem, while Poppy wrote: ‘Christmas special’s yours boo.’
Who are the Strictly couples for the 2026 series?
The full line-up of celebrities and their pro dancer partners are:
- Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola
- Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley
- Jowita Przystal and Lawrence Robb
- Will Best and Dianne Buswell
- Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr
- Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec
- Mark Karmalita and Tabby Stoecker,
- Julian Caillon and Dame Sarah Storey
- Maddie Ingoldsby and Cach Mercer
- Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden
- John Nellis and Katya Jones
- Carlos Gu and Jaime Winstone
- Nikita Kuzmin and Dani Dyer
- Kai Widdrington and Delta Goodrem
- Nancy Xu and Bethany Antonia
‘We need a government petition to give Neil a partner next year!’ Charlotte stated.
Becki also said that while Neil’s video made her laugh, she’s ‘gutted you haven’t been paired up 🥺’.
‘Can’t believe you didn’t get a partner…AGAIN! 😢,’ said Lynne, as the similarly named Lyn added: ‘The best professional on the show and once again no partner, I am so disappointed, and if it wasn’t for you being there I would stop watching it.😢.’
At least Neil seems to be taking it on the chin!
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday night on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.