Strictly star Katya Jones has denied rumours of tension between Russian and Ukrainian dancers on the show.
Katya and Luba Mushtuk both hail from St Petersburg, while colleagues Nikita Kuzmin and Nadiya Bychkova are from Ukraine
However 32-year-old Katya yesterday dismissed any thoughts of a rift as “total nonsense” and spoke out against her country’s invasion of Ukraine.
She told former contestant Sara Davies on the BBC ’s Morning Live: “You’ve seen first hand how supportive we all are all of each other always, and I want to make one thing very clear, I think the invasion of Ukraine is totally wrong, it shouldn’t be happening, it must stop.
“We’ve been in touch with Nikita who has been very proactive in sharing ways about how to help Ukrainian people.
“I personally find it really upsetting to see what these people are going through, it’s scary and it’s so wrong on all levels, but within our group there’s nothing but love and support and we can’t wait to come back together again.”
Meanwhile, Anton Du Beke says he would “love” to stay on the Strictly panel but is “match fit” to hit the dancefloor if asked.
The Mirror told yesterday how judge Shirley Ballas said she would love to see a new-look five-strong panel with both Anton and Bruno Tonioli, and Craig Revel-Horwood has also said he would like Anton to remain.
The BBC yesterday revealed the professional dancers returning to the show, minus Anton, but with two slots still to fill – after the departures of Oti Mabuse and Aljaz Skorjanec – he could technically be “demoted” from the judging line-up.
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Anton joined the panel after pandemic restrictions made it difficult for Bruno to fly between the UK and the US, where he is a judge on Dancing With The Stars.
Anton, 55, said: “I am loving being a judge. I heard Craig wants me to stay and that is very kind of him. I would love to stay.”
Bosses announced the return of Dianne Buswell, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Neil Jones, Cameron Lombard, Gorka Marquez, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.
Anton thinks Strictly will be back to normal this year after Covid restrictions, with a bigger studio audience.
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