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Strictly’s Katya Jones praises her and Adam Peaty’s ‘connection’ after that ‘almost kiss’
Adam and Katya were the talk of the weekend (Picture: Hello!/PA Wire)
Katya Jones has discussed her ‘connection’ with Adam Peaty, days after their apparent almost-kiss took over the Strictly Come Dancing fandom.
Olympic swimmer Adam came joint second on the leaderboard on Saturday night with his and Katya’s dramatic Argentine tango, which has seen them through to week five.
However, their score of 32 was overshadowed by their closeness at the end of the routine, with viewers speculating that Adam, 26, stopped himself from kissing his partner.
Ahead of the live shows, the stars spoke to Hello! magazine about their partnership, and Katya, 32, heaped praised on the athlete.
She said: ‘I’ve worked with athletes before and they’re always prepared but I remind Adam that everyone else is doing 40 to 50 hours a week too and putting in 100 percent and it really shows.
‘It’s not just about the steps and hard work; it’s also the connection and the feeling you leave people with. You don’t just do the steps; you’ve got to perform them.’
The couple got close at the end of the routine (Picture: BBC One/Strictly Come Dancing)
Adam said he was loving the experience (Picture: BBC / Guy Levy)
Despite the hard work, Adam was loving the experience, saying: ‘I have been swimming for nearly 17 years and I’m glad I’ve had this challenge. I’ve learnt so much about my body and my mental state from dancing. It’s so energetic and positive.
‘You never know when your Strictly’s going to be over so I’ve made sure I enjoy it. Swimming is very tedious to train for but with dancing, if you get the right song, it can be the most amazing ten hours you’ve ever spent. I love music.’
He added, though, that working with Katya has been an adjustment, saying: ‘As a solo athlete, I’m still getting used to having a partner and that has been a very eye-opening experience.’
While Katya is single following her split from fellow Strictly professional and ex-husband Neil Jones, Adam is in a relationship with girlfriend Eiri Munro, with who he shares a one-year-old son, George-Anderson.
Adam has a son with girlfriend Eiri (Credits: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
The swimmer spoke about his Strictly journey (Picture: PA)
Eiri reacted to that almost-kiss with a jokey TikTok, in which she pretended to cry under the caption: ‘Watching your boyfriend almost kiss another woman on live tv.’
The 23-year-old – who became pregnant with their son two months after meeting Adam on the dating app Tinder – then tipped her head back and screamed while the caption changed to: ‘‘Finding out 10 million people also watched it live.’
However, Eiri has continued to support her boyfriend on Instagram, and Adam has hit back at ‘gossip’ on social media.
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He wrote: ‘We go again, thank you so much for all your support! Such a relief!
‘To everyone who sees what they want to see, your comments have real life consequences. I will not be lowered or overcome by your gossip. Protect your energy.’
While Katya and Adam survived another week, it was Greg Wise’s Strictly journey that came to an end on Sunday, as his and Karen Hauer’s samba set to Macarena was savaged by the judges.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday on BBC One.
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