Neil Jones: It’s tough reading negative comments… but I’m Strictly’s biggest cheerleader

As Neil Jones marks a sixth time doing Strictly Come Dancing with no celebrity partner, the professional dancer has shared that he is happy being the show's 'biggest cheerleader'.

Since joining the competition in 2016, Neil has only been partnered up with Alex Scott and Nina Wadia, taking part solely in group performances rather than weekly duo routines.

Talking with OK! this week, he explained: "Every year I say 'as long as I'm still enjoying Strictly and they still want me, then I'm happy to keep doing it, with or without a partner. Then they call me a second time, which is to say whether I have a partner or not, and I tell them before they get a chance to say it, that I really don't mind either way.

"I’m the Strictly cheerleader and am always rooting for the celebs. I give pep talks to them and say ‘whatever you do, just listen to your partner, that’s the main thing.

"Ignore the judges, they will give you scores but your pro is with you every day and knows what they are doing, so listen to them’."

Not having a partner this year appears to have worked in Neil's favour, as he has just welcomed a baby girl with his Love Island fiancé Chyna Mills, and has more time to be hands-on with the new arrival.

As we chatted, Neil explained that, while Strictly is airing live each weekend, most of his work has been done in advance – including seven weeks of pre-recorded group numbers before the show even kicked off.

But despite his acceptance of the show's decision, the star admits that it can be hard when others believe that he hasn't been paired up due to not being a good enough dancer.

He explained: "My first year doing the show, I got quite a few comments about not having a partner which was difficult. Especially because I’d come from a world where I was the No.1 dancer for three years and hadn’t lost a single competition.

"So, to then see messages from people saying ‘Why is he even there? He’s not even dancing, is he good enough for the show?’ is hard.

"And at the beginning you want to answer people back, but it's not worth doing that. I would rather lift people up and have them feel better about themselves, because that's usually why they leave hate."

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