Ed Balls has admitted the Strictly Come Dancing curse really does exist, but fortunately he and his wife Yvette Cooper were immune to it. The Labour politician, who was paired with pro dancer Katya Jones in the 2016 series, said: "There is definitely a Strictly curse, year after year. Luckily there's an age cut off and I was well above the age. [My wife] Yvette's view was always, when she was asked about it she would say, 'In his dreams.'"
Speaking to Carol Vorderman on Lorraine, Ed shared his views on Katya's drunken kiss with her dance partner for this year, comedian Seann Walsh. The pair were pictured embracing and smooching on a night out in London earlier this month. "Katya and Seann had a very tough time the last few of weeks. Katya made a big mistake," Ed said of the married dancer. "Neil (Jones) and Katya are good friends of ours, all they can do is come back and keep dancing."
"There is definitely a Strictly curse, year after year," said Ed
On Sunday night, Seann and Katya found themselves in the bottom two, fighting for their spot in the competition against Vick Hope and Graziano Di Prima. Seann and Katya were saved by all four judges bar Craig Revel Horwood. Guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro, who was standing in for Bruno Tonioli, said: "I thought everybody really stepped up their game this time around. The person that I felt stepped it up the most and eliminated more of the mistakes was Seann and Katya."
MORE: Prince William says Prince George is taking after Princess Diana with his love of dancing
The pair have been trying to put their kissing scandal behind them and have been focused on their dance rehearsals, although viewers have noticed that Katya's husband Neil Jones, who also performs on Strictly, has been kept separate from Seann and Katya during the shows. Last week on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, Katya also chose an unfortunate set of words when talking about their rehearsals.
Vick Hope shares Strictly secrets:
The Russian beauty explained: "God I chucked a lot into the dance and I was not giving up. It didn't go quite as planned. He's got massive bruises and scratches on his back and then he hurt his knee as well." Seann added: "I was injured, that's how brave I am," to which Katya replied: "Oh yeah, it wasn't me who was standing on your shoulders who was brave."
MORE: Prince Harry responds to flirty fan comment during royal tour of Australia
Fans of the show took to social media to discuss the interview, with one writing: "Katya on #Strictly #ItTakesTwo talking about the scratches on Seann's back! Really don't think that was the best thing to say after everything that's happened." Another commented on the pair's "undeniable" chemistry.
Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to our newsletter to get all of our celebrity, royal and lifestyle news delivered directly to your inbox.