Strictly Come Dancing pro Katya Jones 'saved' as mass axes rolled out (original) (raw)

Major pros are at risk of being dropped from Strictly Come Dancing, but reports say Katya is safe (Picture: Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock)

As the Strictly Come Dancing bloodbath appears to continue, former winner Katya Jones is said to have been ‘saved’ by BBC bosses.

The news comes after reports that the current longest-serving pro has been let go.

Karen Hauer, 43, joined the BBC reality series in 2012 and has been dancing up a storm on the ballroom floor the longest out of the current professionals (she is only outpaced by Anton Du Beke and Brendan Cole in the show’s history).

Amid the turmoil, Katya, 36, has reportedly been offered a contract by the broadcaster.

A source told the Daily Mail: ‘She is not leaving, Katya is remaining on Strictly, the bosses think she’s a legend. They know how much viewers love her and they are also in awe of her choreography talents.’

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According to the publication, the channel were ‘desperate’ to keep her, knowing ‘how popular she is with viewers.’

Katya has been a pro on the show for a decade, joining in 2016 (Picture: BBC)

Karen has danced with the likes of Jamie Laing, Chris Ramsey and Mark Wright (Picture: Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home)

Katya came onboard in 2016, and her partners have included former Labour MP Ed Balls, boxer Nicola Adams and comic Seann Walsh.

She was Strictly champion in 2017 with Casualty actor Joel McFadden and finished fifth on the most recent series with Lewis Cope.

For Karen, it appears to be a different story.

Despite being a long-standing star of the show and a two-time finalist, it’s being suggested that no-one is safe from murder on the dancefloor.

The Sun reported over the weekend that four other popular pros would not be returning for Strictly’s 24th series.

Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Michelle Tsiakkas and Nadiya Bychkova have all been dropped, according to TV insiders.

Karen Hauer, the longest serving female pro, has reached the final twice but never won (Picture: Ray Burmiston/PA Wire)

Gorka Marquez, who met his wife on the show, has reportedly been axed (Picture: BBC/Ray Burmiston)

Meanwhile, co-stars Neil Jones and Nancy Xu will reportedly remain part of the programme but will not be assigned celebrity partners. They may still feature in group routines.

The Sun has suggested that a full list of ‘who’s in and who’s out’ won’t be published until next month but that ‘difficult conversations’ are already happening with pros.

But reports suggest that Karen has received the bad news ahead of the show’s return in the autumn.

‘Karen is the latest professional dancer to be told her contract will not be renewed this year.

‘It’s very much a case of out with the old and in with the new. As the longest-serving female dancer, Karen found out last week that her time on Strictly is over,’ an insider told The Daily Mail.

A source told Metro that Aljaž Škorjanec is coming back to Strictly for his 12th season.

Dancer Karen joined Strictly in 2012 (Picture: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty)

A second source added that Karen was ‘obviously very upset after being told the news’ but is looking towards her future, where she can concentrate on choreography and her fitness career.

It comes after a show insider told The Sun that while it had been ‘some time’ since there was a ‘churn’ in the pro line-up ‘they do happen every few years, and there hasn’t been a big one in some time’.

They added: ‘The way producers look at it is a little like running a football team: even after Man City win the league they still change their team around and bring in fresh blood constantly, to stay at the top of their game.’

‘A lot of the people going are now established names and stars in their own right but you have to remember that to be on the show, they also had to replace someone else at one point.’

A BBC spokesperson told Metro that ‘plans for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course’.

All the reports of change come after longtime presenting duo Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman quit the show (Picture: BBC)

Karen is the longest-serving female pro in Strictly history, having joined in 2012 and partnered the likes of Westlife’s Nicky Byrne, Hairy Biker Dave Myers, Jamie Laing – who she came joint second with in 2020 – and comedian Jayde Adams.

She also reached the final with Mark Wright in 2014.

The Strictly shake-up comes amid rumours that producers are keen for a fresh start for the programme ahead of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s presenting replacements being announced.

Having announced their joint decision to leave after 14 years of fronting the show together during the last series, there’s also suggestion that bosses are keen to shake things up after several scandals in recent years too.

Amanda Abbington’s claims of bullying against professional partner Giovanni Pernice sparked a major internal investigation two years ago, with fellow pro Graziano Di Prima accused of being ‘physically and verbally abusive’ towards Zara McDermott during rehearsals soon after, for which he later apologised.

There have also been several scandals to rock Strictly in recent years (Picture: Anthony Devlin/Hogan Media/Shutterstock)

Both professionals were axed from the lineup and replaced after the investigation concluded.

However the next season, Wynne Evans was cut from the show’s live arena tour after making a ‘spit roast’ remark about host Janette Manrara, which he has since said he will ‘regret’ for the rest of his life; he ultimately stepped away from public life after BBC Radio decided not to renew his contract.

An additional external investigation was then launched into the use of cocaine by two Strictly stars and drinking on the show by one of them, but the programme was given the all-clear after no supporting evidence was found.

Finally, EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick had his own Strictly scandal, having been filmed backstage during the live shows using a disabled slur. He was suspended briefly from the BBC soap.

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Metro has contacted the BBC and reps for Karen Hauer and Katya Jones for comment.

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