'Strictly Come Dancing' Pro Neil Jones Won't Be Partnered With A Celebrity This Year

It was previously claimed he'd be stepping into Brendan Cole's shoes.

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional Neil Jones has revealed that, for the third year in a row, he won’t be partnered with a celebrity contestant in the upcoming series.

Neil joined the show in 2016, alongside his wife Katya Jones, who won the show last year with celeb partner Joe McFadden.

In that time, Neil has never taken part in the competition side of ‘Strictly’, instead appearing only in group performances.

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Neil Jones
Dave J Hogan via Getty Images

After reports that this would be his year to finally compete, following the departure of regular pro Brendan Cole, Neil has now set the record straight, telling his Twitter followers: “There’s been a few rumours swirling around, whether or not I’ll have a partner. Unfortunately, I won’t be paired up this series.

“But do not worry, because I’m still going to be there every single week in all the group numbers, you’re going to see me in the music acts, in ‘It Takes Two’, which I love.”

He added: “I’m really really happy to be part of such a great show and I just wanted to say to everyone, thank you so much for all of your kind words and your support.”

It was ‘Strictly’ announcer Alan Dedicoat who previously told The Sun that Neil would be partnered with a celeb, suggesting earlier this month he was “interested to see how he does”.

For this year’s series, the show will be getting three brand new professionals, in the form of Graziano Di Prima, Luba Mushtuk and Johannes Radebe.

This year’s ‘Strictly’ launch, in which the celebrities find out who they’ll be dancing with for the duration of the series, has now been confirmed to be airing on Saturday 8 September, while the musical line-up for the show has also been announced.

Strictly Come Dancing's Former Pros: Where Are They Now?
Aliona Vilani(01 of20)
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Aliona's time on 'Strictly' ended on a high, when she won with former The Wanted star Jay McGuinness.

When Aliona left, she told fans it was because she wanted to concentrate on starting a family. The dancer then welcomed her first child with her husband, Vincent Kavanagh, in July 2017.
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Artem Chigvintsev(02 of20)
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Artem took part in four seasons of 'Strictly', winning with Kara Tointon on his debut year and ending with a runner-up position while paired with Natalie Gumede.

He's one of a number of 'Strictly' stars who swapped the UK for the States and as of 2017, was a 'Dancing With The Stars' pro.

Artem was also a choreographer on the 2011 series of 'So You Think You Can Dance'.
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Flavia Cacace(03 of20)
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Flavia and her then-dance partner (and ex-boyfriend) Vincent Cacace left the BBC show behind in 2013, stating that they wanted to focus on their own stage shows.

While the duo did this, Flavia's personal life also saw her hit headlines as the famous 'Strictly' curse struck.

She split from Vincent back in 2007, and began a relationship with her 'Strictly' parter Matt Di Angelo, but they also then split.

She later got together with - and then married - her series eight partner Jimi Mistry.
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Robin Windsor(04 of20)
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Robin was forced to pull out of the 2014 series after suffering a back injury and has not returned.

He's hit headlines multiple times since then, thanks to his on-off relationship with 'X Factor' star Marcus Collins, and in August 2017 teased a new professional adventure, the mysteriously titled 'Blazin' Ballroom'.
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Camilla Dallerup(05 of20)
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Camilla was one of the original 'Strictly' pros and stick around for six seasons, stepping down after winning with actor Tom Chambers.

She went on to star on other TV shows including 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' and 'Pointless Celebrities'.

Things are very different nowadays though and as of summer 2017, Camilla was running her own life-coaching business.
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Brian Fortuna(06 of20)
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Brian is admittedly one of the lesser-known 'Strictly' pros, having appeared on just two seasons, but he's been pretty succesful ever since.

In the time since he left 'Strictly' in 2009, Brian has gone on to star in numerous stage shows including 'Aladdin' and 'Over The Rainbow'.

He also trod the boards in 'Burn The Floor', alongside his 'Strictly' partner Ali Bastian (pictured here).
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Darren Bennett(07 of20)
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Darren and his celeb partner Jill Halfpenny won the second ever series of 'Strictly' and he was later paired with two other soapstars, Jessie Wallace and Letitia Dean.

In 2012, he joined the Lebanese version of 'Dancing With The Stars'.
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Erin Boag(08 of20)
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Erin took part in 10 years of 'Strictly' before doing her final waltz across the ballroom in 2012.

In 2014, she gave birth to her first son, a baby boy, and named her dance partner Anton du Beke as Godfather.
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James Jordan(09 of20)
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Ah, James.

He's not exactly on the best terms with those still at 'Strictly', and has spent a lot of time since he left making wild fix accusations, live-tweeting derogatory comments about the show and slamming its current stars. Bitter? Never...

When he's not been doing that, James has also popped up on a number of other reality TV shows, including 'Celebrity Big Brother' and, errm, 'Through The Keyhole'.
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Karen Hardy(10 of20)
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Fan favourite Karen Hardy was thought to be in the running to replace Len Goodman when he stepped down from the judging panel in 2016, alas, it was not meant to be.

Karen is pretty busy though and runs her own award-winning dance school in Chelsea.
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Gleb Savchenko(11 of20)
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Oh Gleb. Precious Gleb.

Anita Rani was lucky enough to dance with Gleb on his one and only series of 'Strictly' and quite frankly, we're still jealous.

After the 2015 series, Gleb announced that he wouldn't be back anytime soon, deciding to spend time with his wife and daughter instead.

He then joined 'Dancing With The Stars' in the States - the couple split their time between there and Sydney - before welcoming a second child in August 2017.
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Natalie Lowe(12 of20)
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After eight years in the 'Strictly' ballroom, Natalie decided to leave the show behind ahead of the 2017 series.

Speaking after quitting, Natalie said she wanted to focus on spending time with her fiancé James Knibbs, hinting at plans to start a family.
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Ian Waite(13 of20)
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Ian, seen here with Denise Lewis, left 'Strictly' in unfortunate circumstances when his 2009 partner Jade Johnson suffered an injury and was forced to pull out.

Ian is still a fully-paid up member of the dance world and toured with Camilla Dallerup in 2017, while also being joined by dancers including Oti Mabuse, Kristina Rihanoff and Natalie Lowe at other events.
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Kristina Rihanoff(14 of20)
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It's fair to say Kristina's is one of the most famous former pros and she became the first 'Celebrity Big Brother' star ever to announce a pregnancy while in the house in January 2016.

She welcomed her first daughter with Ben Cohen - who she met on 'Strictly' - later that year.
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Vincent Simone(15 of20)
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Vincent still dances with Flavia Cacace and their West End shows have even won Olivier Award nominations.

You can also book them for corporate events which is something we're seriously considering. Anyone fancy chipping in?
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Oksana Platero(16 of20)
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One series wonder Oksana jetted off on what looks like - judging from her Instagram - a never-ending holiday with her husband Jon. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
Joanne Clifton(17 of20)
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After winning the 2016 series with Ore Oduba, Joanne decided to go out on a high, leaving the BBC show behind and quickly landing a role in a stage production of 'Flashdance: The Musical'. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
Lilia Kopylova(18 of20)
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Lilia fast become one of our favourite pros when she partnered with Darren Gough, who won the third series.

She continues to dance with partner Darren Bennett, and also works as a choreographer on Ireland's 'Dancing With The Stars'.
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Ola Jordan(19 of20)
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Ola's most notable post-'Strictly' job is one she probably regrets - yes, we mean 'The Jump'.

The dancer is one of the programme's many casualties and she was left needing knee surgery after suffering an injury in training, before a single episode had even aired.

She was forced to take a huge break from her dance career and later revealed that her leg "will never be the same".
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Trent Whiddon(20 of20)
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Trent is another dancer to compete in just one series, taking part with Pixie Lott in 2014.

Trent and his dance partner Gordana have a very snazzy website which lists the various events and places they are performing and reaching at, up and down the country.
(credit:Danny Martindale via Getty Images)