Introduction
Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; Russian: Екатерина Андреевна Соколова; 12 May 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the competition show Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2017 with dance partner Joe McFadden.
Early life
She was born in Sestroretsk, near Leningrad, Soviet Union and started dancing at the age of six, training in gymnastics as well as Ballroom and Latin-American dancing. Her father is a senior oil company executive and her ethnic Korean mother is a graduate in engineering.
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2016, Jones became a professional in the BBC ballroom dancing show Strictly Come Dancing for its fourteenth series. Jones was partnered with former Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls. For the fifteenth series, Jones partnered Holby City actor Joe McFadden and the couple were the series winners. For the sixteenth series Jones partnered comedian Seann Walsh. For the seventeenth series, she was partnered with Sports presenter, Mike Bushell.
| Series | Partner | Place | Average score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Ed Balls | 6th | 22.6 |
| 15 | Joe McFadden | 1st | 33.8 |
| 16 | Seann Walsh | 11th | 22.5 |
| 17 | Mike Bushell | 8th | 23.5 |
Performances with Ed Balls
She partnered politician Ed Balls for the fourteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing.
| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "Are You Lonesome Tonight" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 21 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Charleston / "The Banjo's Back in Town" | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 23 | Safe |
| 3 | Samba / "Cuban Pete" | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 24 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble / "Holding Out for a Hero" | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 16 | Safe |
| 5 | American Smooth / "Is This the Way to Amarillo" | 2 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 18 | Safe |
| 6 | Cha-cha-cha / "Love Potion No. 9" | 4 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 26 | Safe |
| 7 | Quickstep / "Help!" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 8 | Salsa / "Gangnam Style" | 4 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 25 | Safe |
| 9 | Jive / "Great Balls of Fire" | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 23 | Safe |
| 10 | Tango / "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Cha-cha-cha Challenge / "I Like It Like That" |
4 Awarded |
6 1 |
7 extra |
6 point |
23 24 |
Eliminated |
- Red number indicates Ed & Katya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Performances with Joe McFadden
She partnered Scottish actor Joe McFadden for the fifthteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing.
| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Jive / "Rockin' Robin" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 29 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Tango / "Castle on the Hill" | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 22 | Safe |
| 3 | Viennese Waltz / "Somewhere My Love" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 24 | Safe |
| 5 | Paso Doble / "Diablo Rojo" | 7 | 9 | 10 | N/A | 26 | Safe |
| 6 | Foxtrot / "Trouble" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Safe |
| 7 | Charleston / "Alexander's Ragtime Band" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 8 | Rumba / "One" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 9 | Salsa / "Ride on Time" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 10 | Quickstep / "Jumpin' Jack" Paso Doble-a-thon / "España cañí" |
9 Awarded |
9 6 |
10 extra |
10 points |
38 44 |
Safe |
| 11 | Samba / "Money" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 37 | Safe |
| 12 | American Smooth / "Have You Met Miss Jones?" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| Argentine Tango / "Human" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | ||
| 13 | Viennese Waltz / "Somewhere My Love" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Winners |
| Showdance / "You Make My Dreams" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | ||
| Charleston / "Alexander's Ragtime Band" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | ||
- Green number indicates Joe & Katya were at the top of the leaderboard.
Performances with Seann Walsh
She partnered comedian and actor Seann Walsh for the sixteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing.
| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Tango / "SexyBack" | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 18 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Jive / "I'm Still Standing" | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 | Safe |
| 3 | Paso Doble / "The Matrix (Theme)" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 4 | Charleston / "Bills" | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 5 | Quickstep / "Lightning Bolt" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 24 | Bottom Two |
| 6 | Viennese Waltz / "I Put a Spell on You" | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 20 | Eliminated |
- Red number indicates Seann & Katya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
- ^AAlfonso Ribeiro filled in for Tonioli
Performances with Mike Bushell
She partnered television presenter Mike Bushell for the seventeenth season of Strictly Come Dancing.
| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Jive / "Do You Love Me" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 22 | No Elimination |
| 2 | American Smooth / "Rhinestone Cowboy" | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 14 | Safe |
| 3 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "It's Raining Men" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | Safe |
| 4 | Quickstep / "Come On Eileen" | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba / "Apache (Jump on It)" | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 21 | Bottom Two |
| 6 | Tango / "What You Waiting For? | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | Bottom Two |
| 7 | Charleston / "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Bottom Two |
| 8 | Paso Doble / "Tamacun" | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 25 | Eliminated |
- Red number indicates Mike & Katya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
- ^AAlfonso Ribeiro filled in for Tonioli
Tour
Katya took part in the national Strictly Come Dancing - The Live Tour in 2017.
In October 2018 it was announced she would be appearing with Neil Jones at Donahey's Dancing with The Stars Weekends in 2019.
Personal life
Jones married her boyfriend of five years, Neil Jones, a dancer and fellow cast member of Strictly Come Dancing, on 3 August 2013. In October 2018 a video and photos of Jones kissing her celebrity Strictly partner Seann Walsh were published. On 18 August 2019 Jones and her husband announced that they had separated.