The Duchess of Cornwall has had a twirl around the dance floor with former Strictly pro Brendan Cole, but can you see another member of the family following suit? Strictly star Neil Jones has revealed his dream royal partner – and it would be Her Majesty the Queen! Speaking exclusively to HELLO! in this week's magazine, Neil said: "I would love to dance with the Queen."
But it sounds like the ballroom dancer will have to fight his fellow Strictly co-star AJ Pritchard if the monarch ever did fancy a spin. Last month, AJ said of his dream partner on This Morning: "Obviously up there, number one, it is the Queen. Beautiful waltz, beautiful little step, side, close."
Behind the scenes with Neil and Katya:
Neil, his wife Katya and AJ are all back in the Strictly line-up for 2019, although Neil won't know until the autumn whether he will finally be partnered with a celebrity. "I am happy with whatever happens but of course I would love to have a celebrity partner. It is nice as each year the support gets stronger and stronger," he told HELLO!
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"There is that one day when the pros go into the room and meet all the celebrities and I've felt that a bit. The celebrities have sometimes said: 'So, who do you hope to dance with?' I say: 'I don't get anyone,' and they are like: 'Oh, okay,' while I think I wish I did." Neil's wife Katya, 29, is hoping her husband will be given his first celebrity partner this year. "I think he would love it," said the Russian beauty. "I feel Neil could partner any character, any age, any ability, he could come up with something so creative."
Neil said he would love to dance with the Queen
In this week's exclusive interview, the couple, who are preparing to star in their own show Somnium: A Dancer's Dream this summer, also spoke about Katya's kissing scandal last year. The raven-haired dancer ended up front page news with her most recent celebrity partner Seann Walsh after they were pictured kissing and embracing after a long day of rehearsals.
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"We knew we just had to sort it out ourselves. It was quite shocking to be suddenly so exposed and everyone has an opinion on it but we just wanted to focus on us. My first thought was for Neil," said Katya. Neil added: "I think, for me, I can accept people make mistakes. My mum always said: 'People make mistakes in their lives. Don't react, try to understand'. So that is how it always is for me."
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