Alex Scott says she feared Neil Jones wouldn’t like her after Strictly swap
Kevin Clifton stood in for Jones while he took two weeks off with an injury.
Strictly Come Dancing star Alex Scott has said she feared Neil Jones would not like her after it was claimed she wanted to swap him for Kevin Clifton.
Professional dancer Jones, 37, reunited with the former England football star, 35, after he missed two weeks of live shows because of an injury.
During that time Clifton, who lifted the Glitterball Trophy with Stacey Dooley last year, stood in for Jones.
Scott later denied reports she was “fuming” after finding out she would be back with Jones at the last minute.
Scott and Jones, who are dancing to Beyonce’s Run The World (Girls) at Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom this weekend, appeared on This Morning with co-hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on Wednesday.
Schofield asked: “Were you disappointed? Was there any truth in that at all?”
Scott said: “No and I think that’s why I woke up on Sunday morning actually a little bit gutted because I think, how you said Holly, I had started blossoming when we were together doing the Charleston.
“So it wasn’t just Kev – I have found this confidence. And for me, we had done the amazing jive, which was so much fun, on Saturday night, and you wake up to those headlines.
“My first reaction was, ‘Oh no, my partner is going to think I don’t even like him any more’.
“We started this journey together. So then, straight away, that’s where social media can come in and play a positive part because I just put out a tweet saying it’s absolutely not true.
“Because what everyone sees on TV is me having the time of my life. It’s not an act. I love dancing with Neil.”
The pair performed a jive on Saturday night’s show, with Jones telling the judges: “It’s good to be back.”
He said he and Clifton had agreed Scott’s new-found confidence had come from her alone.
Jones said: “I know Alex so well and I know we get on well and I have known Kevin for over 25 years. We are really good friends.
“And actually, between me and Kevin, we were joking because we said that her highest score is not me or Kevin, it is from her on her own.
“That’s on her, not on us.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One on Saturday.
