Strictly's Neil Jones pokes fun as he responds to not getting a celebrity partner for 2026 series

Strictly Come Dancing star Neil Jones may not have gotten a celebrity partner for this year's season, but the professional dancer's spirits are still high as he made a playful remark to the matter.

The long-running BBC series returned on Saturday (19 September) as Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe made their hosting debuts. Furthermore, the 15 celebrities found out who they'd be dancing with.

Neil has been a fixture of the series for the past decade, though he has only had a celebrity partner in three seasons across that time. This year is no different, with the dancer again being overlooked.

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Despite some fans being disappointed, the professional referenced the matter with an amusing skit on Instagram. In the video, he says he will get a celebrity partner if he can drop a pen in the bin, but is shocked when somebody catches it before it lands.

"Pen in the cup 2.0. You know I love being part of @bbcstrictly and honestly after adding 2 Guinness world records last year to my 45 titles around the world, I feel like it would be greedy to win the glitterball as well so I wanted to give the others a chance," he wrote.

Several Strictly stars past and present enjoyed Neil's post, with JB Gill, Bethany Antonia, Melvin Odoom, Tyler West, Kai Widdrington, Carlos Gu and Luba Mushtuk all leaving a message in the comment section.

"Love you and your energy Neil, so sad that you don’t have a partner again," commented one disappointed viewer, with another adding: "This made me laugh but gutted you haven't been paired up."

Related: BBC confirms a brand-new Strictly spin-off to air every Sunday night after the results show

The BBC series returns this weekend as the couples deliver their first routine of the season, and some fans have already predicted that the female celebrities may be hard to beat this year.

Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer and Delta Goodrem - who are partnered with Vito Coppola, Nikita Kuzmin and Kai respectively - were all singled out for praise following the launch show, but who will lift the Glitterball Trophy?

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.