John Nellis and Katya Jones top the Strictly leaderboard with a combined 31 after week one, and the score now carries into tonight's show. The Northern Irish YouTuber's Foxtrot to Alex Warren's Ordinary has given them a clean early lead, but it also turns the next dance into a test of whether they can hold it.
31 is the number that matters now because it places the pair at the front of the field before week two is added in. Nellis said, “It's all down to Katya, honestly. Twelve days ago, I had never danced, and she made me do that, so.” Jones added her own pressure point when she said, “What I love the most about my job, about this show, is to see the potential and put my heart and soul into moments like that when you finish and you feel proud of yourself.”
Katya Jones and Joe McFadden
2017 still frames the bigger picture around Jones, who won Strictly Come Dancing with Joe McFadden and has not reached another final since. Her later best finish was fifth place, so a week-one lead is not just a number on a board; it is the sort of start that invites comparison with the run she will need to build if she wants another deep run.
Anton Du Beke called the routine “extraordinary” and “stunned,” while Judi James said Jones has “the curse of the ‘early success syndrome’.” James also warned that “Celebs that start as strongly as this raise expectations for the next show and often struggle to recapture their initial form and sustain it through the long run.” In plain competition terms, a strong opening can become the benchmark the couple is judged against from this point on.
John Nellis and Ordinary
12 days before the performance, Nellis said he had never danced. That makes the 31 sharper, because the result is not just about placement but about how quickly he has had to absorb the basics while competing against couples with more built-in experience.
After week one, the score goes forward into tonight's show and will be added to week two before the first couple of 2026 is voted off in Sunday's results show. Katya Jones has the platform; now the next performance has to prove that the opening lead was a start, not a peak.
