Strictly Come Dancing star Neil Jones surprised his wife Katya Jones by flying out to Saint Petersburg earlier than planned to be with her for New Year's Eve – but that isn’t the only surprise Neil had in store for her. When Katya asked her husband to build him a snowman, Neil decided to go the extra mile, and spent four hours crafting an impressive sculpture featuring a group of snowmen sitting around the table enjoying a game of poker. Neil's attention to detail even saw him place a beer bottle in one of the snowmen's hands. The pro dancer had fun showcasing his craftsmanship on Instagram – and fans were seriously impressed with his elaborate idea.
"Your mental Neil", they wrote in the comments section, to which he replied: "That's true." Other fans were seriously impressed by Neil's talents, with one writing: "Omg that's amazing! How long did it take you to build all the snowmen?", while another said: "This is amazing, although I bet your hands are freezing now!" Neil's creation soon got Katya and the rest of her family in the mood to build their own snowmen, with Katya sharing photos of their handy-work on her own Instagram account.
MORE: Strictly's AJ Pritchard to give first TV interview since attack
Neil and Katya had welcomed 2019 in together with Katya's family at their home. The festivities included lots of dancing in the family home, with Katya's parents and her two dance teachers joining in too. Neil and Katya were thrilled to be reunited, having spent a few days apart over the Christmas period, with Katya in Russia with her family and Neil in London – where he attended his Strictly colleague Greg Frost's birthday party. Greg worked as a floor manager on the BBC One dance show and has appeared in many of Neil's backstage videos.
READ: Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes reveal the surprising way they spent NYE
Ahead of the new year, Neil reflected on the past twelve months, and wrote a lengthy Instagram post about the ups and downs from his year. The dancer admitted that one of the downsides from his year was losing some friends, and that he also had experienced some "not so fantastic" events – most likely referring to Katya and Seann Walsh's kiss that hit the headlines in October. However, appearing as stronger than ever since the incident, Neil added in a separate post: "Remember, if you are negative towards my wife then I don't want you in my life."
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.