Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Jones broke down in tears during her It Takes Two interview on Monday
Strictly Come Dancing star Katya Jones has broken her silence after her shock exit, saying, "I could have done things different".
Katya and her celebrity partner Lewis Cope found themselves facing elimination in Sunday's (December 7) dance-off against West End performer Amber Davies and her partner Nikita Kuzmin.
Both pairs repeated their Musical-themed performances, with Amber and Nikita opening proceedings by delivering their perfect-scoring Charleston to Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat from Guys and Dolls.
Lewis and Katya then took to the floor with their Salsa to Dance at the Gym from West Side Story. The judging panel of Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood unanimously saved Amber and Nikita, resulting in Lewis and Katya becoming the ninth duo to leave the competition. The outcome has been labelled as one of the most shocking departures in the programme's history, reports Wales Online.
Lewis and Katya made an appearance on the Strictly companion show, It Takes Two, on Monday (December 8), where they discussed their experience with presenter Fleur East.
"We're just trying to focus on the positives. It's been an amazing eleven weeks. Of course, it hurts. It'll take a bit of time to get over but I'm really proud of what we've done," Lewis reflected.
Katya added: "I wouldn't do anything any differently. We stayed true to ourselves with each number. A lot of my life I was told, 'Less, Katya, less. Stop'. But finally, I just needed the right dance partner to match that. We did say we're such a good team."
Later in the interview, an emotional Katya confessed: "You know what, looking back, obviously, I can't help but to think, 'Oh maybe I could have done things differently to make it work for him better'.
"But he could only do what I asked him to do, and whatever I've asked you to do, you didn't just do this time, [you did it] every single day.
"We were in a tough position I feel, we were expected to deliver these almost perfect, show stopping routines every single Saturday, which you did. I don't know how. It is tough, but also, I'm really, really proud. We grafted."
Lewis was quick to comfort his partner, reassuringly stating: "You did everything perfect."
The former Emmerdale actor described his Strictly experience as "rewarding" and "heartwarming", before expressing his gratitude to Katya: "It's not really about dancing or anything. You [gestures to Katya] have made me fall in love with dance, but you've also made me fall in love with life again, so thank you."
Strictly fans expressed their disappointment on X (formerly Twitter) following the pair's departure from the show. One fan wrote: "Lewis was one of the best celebs Strictly has ever seen. He's one of a kind and he'll be missed."
Another commented: "Poor Katya on It Takes Two. Don't think I've ever seen her as upset as tonight," while a third said: "Heartbreaking to see Katya so distraught and upset. Please look after her this week, she puts her heart and soul into this show."