The BBC has dismissed reports that Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Jones had a “backstage meltdown” ahead of her elimination from this year’s series over the weekend.
In Sunday night’s results show, Katya and her celebrity partner Adam Peaty were sent home by the judges after landing in the bottom two for the second time.
The Sun later published an article claiming the long-serving professional was “absolutely furious” behind the scenes over the way things had played out.
However, a Strictly spokesperson has insisted this was not the case.
A Strictly source told HuffPost UK: “Emotions often run high on Strictly as no one wants to go home, and Katya and Adam were sad that their Strictly journey might be coming to an end.
“It was clear on the results show that they were visibly upset to leave the competition but they are both in good spirits now.”
Following the pair’s exit, Adam shared an emotional Instagram post detailing some of the life lessons he’d learned on Strictly.
The Olympic gold medallist wrote: “We all have to wear a piece of armour to get the job done and it wasn’t until this week that I knew I could let it go.
“I’m still healing from the trials and tribulations that elite sporting athletes go through but with that I’m also adapting and learning from life.”
He later spoke candidly about some of the difficulties he faced on Strictly during an interview on spin-off show It Takes Two.
“People see the Saturday night delivery, which is the smiles, the laughs, the all-consuming thing of Strictly,” the swimmer explained.
“But for me, I put absolutely everything into that and I enjoyed the lows as much as the highs, because that’s what I remember. But it’s not all positive. It’s really hard.”