Strictly Come Dancing stars Katya Jones and Mike Bushell have been impressing the judges over the past few weeks, having been saved by them twice in a row in the dance-off. And while Mike is certainly improving, Katya has revealed the surprising thing that's been putting him off dancing to his best ability – compliments! Appearing on It Takes Two on Tuesday evening, the couple were talking about their performance on Saturday and Mike recalled: "I heard Motsi screaming at a scoop step, I was doing and she must have thought I was doing it okay because I heard a 'whoop,' at that point, but it put me off for a split second." Katya interjected: "And that's what puts him off - compliments are what put him off."
Strictly's Katya Jones revealed what's putting Mike Bushell off dancing
Watch Katya and Mike talk to HELLO!
During their interview, Katya also joked that Mike was doing better in the dance-off than the actual show. "We are still facing the problem that we are doing the dance-off better than the actual show!" she told her partner. Mike later admitted that this was because he felt more confident the second time around, knowing that it could be his last time dancing, while also taking the judges' comments on board. "You know it could be your very last dance. I don't get as nervous as I do in the main show, I think as I believe it's my last dance," he said.
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Mike and Katya have been saved twice in the dance-off
The BBC Breakfast star also reflected on the results, admitting that nobody ever thinks that they will be safe. "You never think you are safe, especially with our position on the leader board, we were fourth from the bottom," he said. "After two dance-offs in the row, the public vote for their favourites which is fantastic.. I always start preparing for my dance-offs as soon as I perform," he joked. Katya was quick to praise her dance partner, who managed to cover a mistake she had made in the dance-off. "It was nothing to do with Mike, I obviously just didn't line myself up with him the right way. But we still carried on and I'm really glad that they didn't mistake my error for Mike's because he absolutely smashed that dance-off, he nailed it," she said.
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Katya said over the weekend that she was coming off social media after the couple faced backlash after being kept in the competition – with some naysayers claiming they have only been kept in the competition because Mike is a BBC employee. However, their fans and family have defiantly defended the couple, and although Katya has taken a back-seat on social media to concentrate on their dancing rather than the online critics, she did return on Monday to pay tribute to Mike and his dance abilities. In a poignant Instagram post, she wrote: "We've got each other's back partner @mikebushellofficial! Always making me a proud teacher! Look how far you've come! Thank you everyone who supports us. Week 8! Wow!"
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