Katya Jones axed from Strictly line-up over sleazy snog with Seann Walsh

By Dan Wootton, Associate Editor

FINALLY the BBC has had enough of the sleazy shaggers running rampant behind the scenes on Strictly Come Dancing.

After its highly-regarded judge Darcey Bussell waltzed off in one big strop because the show was becoming more about sex than salsa, bosses knew action had to be taken.

The victim: married pro Katya Jones.

Like Kristina Rihanoff before her, she is being unceremoniously ushered off the shiny ballroom floor for being far too much of a vixen.

The final straw was her very public snog with her comedian dance partner Seann Walsh, which created more drama on last year’s show than anything on screen.

It showed just how brazen the saucy antics behind the scenes have become.

Despite both being in high-profile relationships, neither Katya nor Seann thought anything of getting off with one another in front of members of the public at a pub when they should have been rehearsing.

So imagine what goes on backstage when no one with a camera is watching?

While Seann was very much a willing participant in this low-rent affair, Strictly’s new chief Sarah James is sending a very clear message to the professional dancers: Start acting professionally.

How can bosses constantly parrot in public that the family show is about dance techniques when most of the rumba practice is actually taking place in the bedroom?

But with Katya axed from the series how the heck does reigning champ Kevin Clifton get to keep his job?

If one pro has done more to damage the squeaky-clean image of the show it’s Mr Grimsby – the man who you end up dancing with just before your previously healthy relationship implodes.

After a year with not-for-turning lesbian Susan Calman (I wonder why he was paired with her?), bosses thought headstrong and loved-up documentary maker Stacey Dooley would resist his charms.

That lasted all of five minutes. Despite even becoming friends with her poor then-boyfriend – who in true Strictly scandal tradition had been dragged to the front row to applaud in front of the cameras – Kev and Stace are now a full-on item.

No one’s business, she says. Which is true to an extent.

But it’s fair enough for the public who voted for her thinking she was a loyal girlfriend to feel a little peeved.

On a personal level, I don’t care who any of these dancers choose to have sex with. It’s all good fun and provides endless hilarious stories.

To be honest, there are many more high-profile Strictly affairs that we have not been able to report publicly because they were conducted in such a clandestine manner.

My annoyance is about the fibs that are peddled throughout every series, starting with the BBC’s claim that Strictly is a charming family show.

Ask Ben Cohen's ex-wife Abby what she thinks about that.

Then there are the holier than thou celebrities and dancers who proclaim in every interview that they are putting in 16 hours of training a day because they’ve just fallen in love with dancing.

Next time you hear that line, you can take it from me there’s more than likely something else keeping them entertained in that miserable training room.

I was with an A-list female celebrity recently who told me her famous bloke had been asked to do the show.

Her response? “Absolutely never – that’s like handing him over forever to some woman with big boobs.”

Correct move. I pity the BBC booker trying to sign anyone who isn’t single this year. At least any poor wives will rest easy knowing at least their hubby won’t be nestled up alongside frisky Katya.

But if you’re a hubby, just pray to the Strictly gods that your beloved wife doesn’t end up in the arms of Kev from Grimsby . . .