Strictly’s Nigel Harman gushes about the ‘joyful hours’ he and dance partner Katya Jones spend together ‘laughing a lot’ – as he reveals his wife takes their daughter to watch them rehearse

Strictly star Nigel Harman has said the “joyful hours” he and dance partner Katya Jones spent together “laughed a lot” while rehearsing for the BBC show.

The former EastEnders actor, 50, is hoping to secure enough votes to take the couple to Blackpool next weekend, which will be Katya’s first appearance at the iconic ballroom in five years.

But Katya, 34, who has won multiple dancing championships in Blackpool with ex-husband Neil Jones, insists she never puts pressure on her famous partner, saying she would rather Nigel have fond memories of the show than her ‘ has to work tirelessly’ on the show. ground.

After their Couples’ Choice performance to Bruno Mars song Just the Way You Are on Saturday and receiving a high score of 34 points from the judges, the pair are hoping they have done enough to reach the Strictly milestone.

Speaking about their bond, Nigel said: ‘I love working with Kats, she is so intuitive as a teacher, choreographer and person, we spend hours together and it’s joyful, we laugh a lot and we get a lot of things done.

‘She makes me a better dancer, I don’t know how she does it, but she does.

‘Do I find her strict? I don’t think so, no. Sometimes I need a little discipline because if you’re not careful, I’ll start talking about everything to distract her so I don’t have to dance.”

The Blackpool Tower Ballroom holds sentimental value for Katya after she earned several titles there with ex-husband and Strictly co-star Neil, who welcomed his first child with Love Island star Chyna Mills last month.

The professional dancers split after Katya was caught kissing her former celebrity dance partner, comedian Seann Walsh, in 2019, and their 15-year relationship fell victim to the Strictly curse.

Katya said: ‘I first went to the Blackpool Championships when I was 13 I think… so twenty years ago, and since then I’ve won a lot of titles there with Neil, so there’s a lot of memories and traditions, love for this place, and to bring Nigel, a celebrity…

‘I haven’t actually been to Blackpool since 2017, if we did it would be really special to show them what it means to us and it’s nice that Strictly is going there to pay that respect to the tradition of ballroom dancing.

‘It’s a completely different experience. When you go there as a competitor, an athlete and as a professional on Strictly, it’s more about sharing with others than going there and defending your title.”

After the thrilling dance competition between Adam Thomas and Angela Rippon on last Sunday night’s results show, which saw the soap actor voted out of the competition, the stakes are high when it comes to which couples will make it to Blackpool.

Regardless of their place in the show, Nigel insists he will find a way to perform in the ballroom.

He said: ‘It’s a milestone on the Strictly map and it’s an important milestone for everyone. Now that we’re here, I’d love to be a part of that. Ballroom dancing has been around for over 100 years, so it would be nice to be a little piece of that history.

“I know how the show works, so if it doesn’t work out this weekend, we’ll just dance outside the chippy.”

Katya, who won Strictly in 2017 with former X Factor star Joe McFadden, says it’s important to keep perspective when competing on the BBC show and while she’s a stickler for technique, she wants Nigel to enjoy the learning process of dancing.

She said: “You want to enjoy this… yes, we do a dance on Saturday and yes, we get scores and yes, there is a competitive element, but when this is over, those aren’t the things that stick with you.

“The things that stick with us are laughing at a squirrel or watching deer in the parking lot. Those are the things we are going to remember and that will create memories and feelings about your experience rather than the details of holding up your elbows.

“It’s very important to remember that this is much healthier than training someone tirelessly.”

Katya even says that work stops once their training ends at the end of the day and Nigel is ‘free’ to return to his wife Lucy Liemann.

She added: ‘I don’t give Nigel any homework… absolutely not. The dance talk stops once it’s 5pm and he’s free to go do what he needs to do.”

Nigel has revealed that his wife Lucy and his daughter, whose name and age are unknown, have supported him throughout and even joined him in the training room every week to get a taste of their performance.

He said: ‘My family really enjoy it, they come to the rehearsal room every Wednesday after school and they see us dancing, they bought the dog this week, it’s one of the most wonderful things and a gift to this show is how much you how to involve your family and how they can come along and support you.

‘They send me out every day with a packed lunch. My daughter recently made me a smoothie to put in the fridge before she went to bed because she was afraid she wouldn’t be awake by the time I had to leave. It’s those moments that I cherish.’

After weeks of intense dance training, the actor admits that he is seeing changes in his body and that he is no longer afraid of pain but has embraced the physical challenge.

He said: ‘I definitely notice the difference.

‘The first 3-4 weeks were very tough… it was like being hit by a train every day and now I have gone through the problems and injuries, and my body seems to be coming back and I feel much stronger and much more durable.

“When you first start this show when you start having trouble you think ‘oh my God, I might never walk again’ and you think it’s disastrous, and then you realize it’s just an essential part of doing of the show.

‘Every day when I get out of bed there are all kinds of old men moaning. I really enjoy the physical side of it and actively look forward to it.”

However, Nigel currently says he has no plans to continue dancing once his Strictly experience is over, insisting: ‘I have no plans to wear but I’m really enjoying it!’